Learning Curve
by linnybug
Summary: Bella's a college freshman who meets Edward the Sigma Pi, but he's not your average frat boy. All human...and lots o'lemons on the horizon for this one...
1. Chapter 1

**I was going to wait until I was done with my last story before I started this, but I'm too into it! Hope you all enjoy. A little background on it – Bella's a college freshman who travels across Washington to go to school with her brother, Emmett. Edward is Emmett's little brother in their fraternity there; will he keep his feelings in check or give in to temptation? Lots of opportunity for fluff/lemons/god-knows-what-else**

**Prologue **

**BPOV**

A tap came at my window around 1 a.m.

I lay there, staring at my ceiling – I didn't have to look over to know who it was: my boyfriend of the past year, Jacob. I just kept my eyes on the random patterns of holes in my ceiling, debating whether or not I'll get up and let him in. Reluctantly, I got up.

He was perched on my ledge, looking rather ridiculous: a 6' 7", incredibly muscular young man folded into an awkward crouching position in order to stay balanced on the small space of roof. But I couldn't laugh at him, because I knew what he came here for, and I was going to have to give him one of the biggest disappointments of his life.

"Bella! Let me in!" He called unnecessarily from outside the double-paned glass.

"Hold on," I muttered as I turned the latch and lifted the window.

I moved out of the way so his long body could unwind itself into my bedroom. He stretched his long legs out as if he had been forced into that position for quite some time; in reality, it had only been about two minutes. He sat on the edge of my bed and looked up at me expectantly.

"No hello?" He asked.

"Hello," I replied.

He patted the space next to him but I shook my head, "I'm fine."

"What's wrong? Today was your graduation day and you're acting as if your dog died."

I stared at the purple rug that lay between us on the floor; I was desperately trying to find the right way to say what I needed to say.

"Jake, you know I really like you, right?"

"You're breaking up with me," it wasn't a question; I didn't expect him to be surprised by this considering how I was acting, or how I'd been acting for the past two weeks, for that matter.

I had just wrapped up my senior year, and I had been making some very difficult decisions. As much as Jacob, and my father, Charlie, wanted me to go to the University of Washington and stay relatively close to Forks, I had done exactly the opposite.

In August, I would be joining my brother, Emmett, at Washington State, in Pullman – which is almost nine hours from my hometown. I haven't told Jacob about this, because I just don't know how.

We were childhood friends who started dating last summer, despite his being a year younger than me and the fact that he attends a different school.

He had visions of us staying in either Forks or La Push for the rest of our lives – I know this because he tells me about it constantly. I think he even has the names of our theoretical children picked out.

Me? I want to get the hell out of Washington.

I want to become a photographer and see the world; Jacob thinks there's plenty for me to photograph right here in Forks.

So, here we were. He just sat there on my bed looking as if he didn't know whether to cry or yell. I wish he would do something, the tension was killing me.

"Why Bella? I thought we were going to make this work," he whispered in a voice hoarse with emotion. "I know you're going to Seattle, but that's not that far away…"

"I'm not going to UW," I said. "I decided to go to state."

"State? Why? Why can't you just go to Seattle? Or even Tacoma?"

"Because I want to see if I can make it away from home, away from everything in Forks."

"But…you don't want me to be a part of your life anymore?" A tear escaped his left eye and I struggled to hold myself together. I knew he'd be crushed, but I had been praying that he wouldn't cry.

"I just don't see us going in the same direction, Jake," I said. "You want to stay around Forks, and I want to see the world."

"What is it with you and this 'see the world' garbage?" He asked, suddenly angry. "You keep saying that, but how many people honestly get out of their home state, Bella? People always say they want to be more than they are, but then they just end up back where started from."

"That's not going to happen to me, Jake."

"Sure," he said with a laugh.

"You know what, why don't you just leave?" I asked pointing to the window. "You only came here because of some stupid promise I made to you – that I'd sleep with you after I graduated – and clearly, that's not happening now."

He stood and ducked back out my window without another word. I slammed my window shut and threw myself on my bed, determined not to cry over a stupid boy.

**EPOV**

"Hey Eddie!! Come on, bro, we're going to Pete's!"

I rolled over and looked at my clock – 9:30 p.m. The quick nap I had meant to take at 3:30 had become more serious than I had intended. I lifted myself out of my bed and picked my jeans up off the floor. Once I had slipped my feet into my Adidas, I wandered down to the kitchen of our house and found all the usual suspects – my fraternity brothers.

I'm a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity at Washington State, and for some unknown reason I took the last room available to live in for this, my junior year. I should have known better; I'm trying to tone down my behaviors, not be such an alcoholic womanizer, and living amongst my own kind makes that difficult to achieve.

Though, a part of me was afraid if I lived on my own, I'd simply pick up where I left off last year – dating one girl after another, drinking every night and wasting my life away. This year, I was determined to do two things: 1) finally get myself on the right track in all of my pre-med courses so my dad – Dr. Carlisle Cullen – will get off of my back, and 2) find one – and only one – girl to date.

This can't be all that hard to accomplish, right?

**August: WSU freshman orientation **

**BPOV**

"Hi guys, I'm Heidi and I'll be your tour guide today. First off, we're going to head over to the student center where you'll find a food court and the student store. We'll also get you your school ID there, you will not want to lose this because it is not just your identification, it's also your meal card – and wouldn't it be awful if you couldn't eat because you lost your card?"

The bubbly blond girl droned on about the importance of our student ID cards until I wanted to reach over and scratch her eyes out. We've all had student IDs before, I'm sure, plus we've all had driver's licenses for at least two years now – we all know how important these things are.

I'm already fairly familiar with this campus, I came here three years ago when my brother started here; my parents and I helped him move into his dorm. I only had my dad on this trip, though. Charlie and Renee, my mom, were divorced shortly after Emmett started college and now she lived in Seattle, allowing Charlie to have primary custody of me – I only really see her in the summertime.

Once I was rid of the super-peppy orientation squad, I found Charlie who was exiting his parent orientation.

"Why did I have to do that again?" He asked me as we met near a grassy area not far from my new dorm hall. "I already went through that crap with Emmett."

"Different kid, different experience," I shrugged.

"I guess so," he said as we reached his truck. Suddenly an SUV pulled up next to us and a group of young men jumped out and walked towards us.

"Dad! Bells!" Emmett yelled as he pushed his way past his friends and lifted me into a big hug.

"Hey dork!" I said as he twirled me around. "Come to help me move in?"

"Of course," he said. "Fraternities have to help freshmen move into their dorms, it's kind of a community service."

"Well, aren't you just the Boy Scout now?" I teased.

"Em, intros?" Asked a tall boy with blond hair.

"Oh, right…Bells this is Jasper, the guy in with the grey sweatshirt is Ben, the guy in the Red Sox hat is Mike and that dangerous looking one is James."

"Hi," I said shyly.

"Nice to meet you, Bella, we've heard all about you," Jasper said as he took my hand and kissed it.  
"Easy Romeo," Emmett warned. "That's my baby sister."

"Where do we start?" Asked the boy named Ben.

"Let's see what we've got," Emmett said walking towards my meager belongings in the back of Charlie's truck. "Packed light, huh sis?"

"You know me," I said.

"I do," he replied. "So I know that you probably brought more books than clothes."

He was right; I had three boxes full of books that Mike and Ben had to carry up together, one at a time.

"Sorry," I said as they set the last box in my room. "I like to read a lot, so I'm always sure to bring a lot of books. Consider yourselves lucky I only brought a third of my collection."

They shook their heads in amusement as they went back down to see if there was anything else that needed to be brought up. But I only had three suitcases and a few other necessities. I was happy to find that the room already came equipped with a desk; I set my lap top up and turned on some music as I started putting my clothes into the dresser on my side of the room.

"That's everything," Emmett declared as he bound back into my room.

"Thanks, Em," I said, hugging him again.

"No problem," he replied as Charlie walked back in, a little out of breath from all the moving. "So, we're having a party at the house tonight; it'll be a good opportunity for you to meet people."

"Frat party?" Charlie asked. "I don't think so, Emmett."

"Dad, this is my sister – do you honestly believe I'd let her do something stupid? Or let anyone else do something stupid to her?"

Charlie still looked skeptical but nodded, "Fine, I guess she could use a little fun before school starts."

"Knock, knock!" Came a melodic voice from the doorway.

"Hey Rose," I called as my brother's girlfriend walked in, looking ever like the goddess she is.

"Hey Bella! Excited to be moving in?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just putting things away right now."

"Have you met your roommate yet?"

"No," I said. "She hasn't showed up."

"Maybe you'll luck out and get someone who decided to not show up or something," she said.

"That'd be cool," I said.

"Oh, come on now, Bells, you want a roommate," Charlie said. "You'll get lonely, otherwise."

Charlie looked to his watch then, "I've got to get going, Bells."

"Really, Dad, you don't have to go now, do you? You could stay here overnight."

"Where?" He asked.

"Always room at the Pi house," Emmett said.

"Sure, like I'm going to stay with the Deltas," Charlie scoffed. "No, I'll just go and let you kids have your fun. Bye Bells."

I hugged my dad as he kissed the top of my head. Emmett hugged Charlie and our dad was out the door.

"So," Rosalie said as soon as Charlie was gone. "What are you wearing to the party?"

"I have to wear something special?" I asked. "I just thought I'd wear this."

I pointed to my jeans and t-shirt. I didn't see the reason in changing, it's not like I'd impress anybody anyway.

"No, no, no," Rosalie said. "I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let you go out looking like that. Let's see what clothes you brought."

Rosalie rifled through my dresser and closet and managed to find one dress and threw it towards me, "Put this on while I think of something to do to your hair."

"I've gotta get back over to the house, will you bring her by later, Rose?" Emmett asked as he walked out of the room.

"Got it covered," she said.

"Alright, see ya later, Bells."

"Bye."

An hour later, after Rosalie had tortured me to her liking she drove me to a big white house with Grecian columns in the front and a big sign hanging from the front that told every passing car that this was, in fact, the Sigma Pi Fraternity house – subtle.

There was a group of boys who couldn't have been much older than me out in the front of the house with bottles of beer in their hands, some were smoking. I suddenly felt out of place, and more than a little vulnerable, in my light, summery, white dress.

"Hey Rose," one of them called.

"You guys be careful," she warned as we passed. "If you see cops, you'd better get back inside quick."

"We will," the same guy said.

"Hey, who's she?" Another guy asked of me.

"Emmett's sister," Rosalie said, not bothering to introduce me – she explained inside.

"You don't want to know any of those guys," she said with the merest hint of snobbery in her voice. "They're just sophomores…and they're idiots."

"OK," I said quietly.

Inside, there was even more drinking going on; a group of boys were seated in front of a TV playing Wii and a group of girls were standing in a corner looking too cool for the room. One of them looked up and started walking our way.

"Hey Rose, who's your friend?" She asked, she had long, blond hair and was wearing a bright pink tube dress.

"This is Bella, Emmett's sister, she's a freshman this year; Bells, this is Samantha, the president of Sigma Kappa."

I had almost forgot that Rosalie was in a sorority – even though she's a tall, gorgeous blond, she's still – how do I put this? She's nice to people. So, really, she's not obvious sorority material.

"Hi Bella, it's nice to meet you," she said as she threw her hair over her shoulder. "So, are you going to pledge with us this year?"

She's good – what better way to put me on the spot than ask me right here and now if I'm going to be part of her Kappa-spank-me sisterhood? I had to think fast.

"I don't know, I guess I've never really thought about joining a sorority." And, I have no desire to be some frat boy's receptacle.

"You totally should," she said. "Come by the house on Monday after school and we'll show you around."

"Sure," I said – couldn't hurt to look.

"There are my girls," Emmett called just in the nick of time. "Having a good time?"

"We just got here, silly," Rosalie said as she gave him a kiss.

Emmett took a closer look at me and his demeanor seemed to change, "Rose? What's Bella wearing?"

"Her dress," Rosalie said as if nothing was wrong.

"Look how short that is," he exclaimed. "And how low it is in the front; I can see her boobs."

"Yes, Emmett, your little sister has breasts," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "And she's 18 now, so chill."

"I don't want any of these guys to see her like that! You know how they are."

"They're your friends!" Rosalie yelled.

"Yes they are! And that's why I know I'm not letting Bella be around them dressed like that."

"Oh stop it! You're overreacting."

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

I turned to see where the new voice was coming from and found myself face to face with the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. He had short, messy, bronze-colored hair and the most devastating pair of eyes I'd ever seen – they were topaz, I've never seen eyes like that before.

He noticed me looking at him and gave me a sweet smile; I dropped my eyes to the floor and turned back to Emmett and Rosalie.

"Hey Cullen, finally find your way out of your rabbit hole?" Emmett asked.

"Figured I'd come up for some air," the man laughed. "Who's this?"

"This is my sister, Bella," Emmett said. "Bells, this is Edward Cullen, he's our treasurer this year."

"It's nice to meet you, Bella," he said offering his hand.

I stared at his perfect, long and graceful hand for what seemed like forever before I actually shook it. I still couldn't find the words to speak to him – so I just squeaked a "hi."

"Edward, doesn't Bella look stunning tonight?" Rosalie asked.

"Absolutely," he replied causing my face to go from warm to blazing. "Though, I'm sure she's stunning no matter what, right?"

"That she is," Rosalie agreed.

"Look, I know my sister is stunning, that's the problem," Emmett said. "She's a tiny, beautiful girl surrounded by a pack of drunken, horny idiots. And I told my dad nothing would happen to her."

"I won't let anything happen to her, Em," Edward said. "I'll be her protector tonight."

"Oh, and you think I trust you, Cullen?" Emmett asked.

"Yes you do," Edward replied. "You know you do; you at least trust me more than anyone else here."

Emmett thought about this for a moment, "That's true. OK, Cullen, if Bella ends up drunk or pregnant tonight, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Understood," Edward said.

"And make double sure you don't let James anywhere near her!"

Edward saluted as Emmett walked away to check on a keg in the kitchen; I looked to Edward who was observing his fellow frat boys with mild amusement, "You really don't have to do this, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"No, Em's right," he said. "You shouldn't be left alone here."

**EPOV**

I had finished my shower and sprayed some Axe on before heading down to sit around and drink with the game gaggle of miscreants I see every day. I don't even know why I bothered with the cologne; really, none of these girls interested me in the least. The Sig Kaps were the sorority we held all of our functions with, and I had dated many of them briefly, so I knew what to expect – and it wasn't much.

As soon as I got downstairs, I was already tired of what I saw: girls flipping their hair and laughing in the corner like they were too precious to interact with anyone else, some guys playing video games and some other guys playing beer pong. I stopped and debated turning around and going back to my room. That is, until I saw Emmett.

My best friend, and big brother in the fraternity, Emmett Swan was standing with his girlfriend, Rosalie Hale, engaged in a heated debate as usual. I walked up behind a small girl standing in front of them to try and defuse the situation.

"Hey guys! What's going on?"

Emmett looked up and smiled, "Hey Cullen, finally find your way out of your rabbit hole?"

"Figured I'd come up for some air. Who's this?"

"This is my sister, Bella," Emmett said. "Bells, this is Edward Cullen, he's our treasurer this year."

"It's nice to meet you, Bella," I said.

As she turned towards me, I saw that she had an angelic, heart-shaped face that was framed by soft, almost auburn hair. And her deep brown eyes caught a glint from the light just behind me, causing them to sparkle as she finally opened her beautiful mouth to speak a quiet, "hi."

"Edward, doesn't Bella look stunning tonight?" Rosalie asked.

"Absolutely," I said, trying to shake all of my impure thoughts out of my head. "Though, I'm sure she's stunning no matter what, right?"

"That she is," Rosalie agreed.

"Look, I know my sister is stunning, that's the problem," Emmett said. "She's a tiny, beautiful girl surrounded by a pack of drunken, horny idiots. And I told my dad nothing would happen to her."

Ah, so this was what Emmett and Rosalie had been arguing about. Well, I could put my bro's mind at ease, "I won't let anything happen to her, Em. I'll be her protector tonight."

"Oh, and you think I trust you, Cullen?" He asked.

"Yes you do –you know you do. You at least trust me more than anyone else here."

"That's true; OK, Cullen, if Bella ends up drunk or pregnant tonight, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Understood," I said.

"And make double sure you don't let James anywhere near her!"

I gave him a salute as he walked back into the kitchen. I turned as I heard James taunting a group of sophomores he had just beat at Mario Kart; no wonder Emmett doesn't want him anywhere near Bella.

Suddenly, she tiny, sweet voice piped up beside me, "You really don't have to do this, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"No, Em's right – you shouldn't be left alone here."

"He's just being overprotective," she said. "It's kind of annoying."

"If you were my little sister, I'd be overprotective, too," I said, trying to sound brotherly.

It definitely wasn't good that I was having romantic feelings for my best friend's sister. I mean, technically she's my sister, right, since Emmett is my Sig Pi brother?

Nope, even that idea couldn't stop me from imagining her naked. Stop it, Cullen! You're going to get a beating from Em if you keep this crap up! But, I can't help it; here before me sits an angel and I couldn't help but fall under her spell. I was lost completely…and completely fucked!

What do you all think? I know this concept had probably been done before, but this is my interpretation – so you know it's of the highest quality (she says so humbly)


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay Yay! I've got some good response on this one! I was thinking of calling it "School Spirit," like the Kanye West song (if you've never heard it, download it immediately), but I have already used a song title for a story, so I'll think something else. I was thinking of having a title that's "Animal House" related, thoughts? **

**Oh, on a personal note, I'm using the Sig Pi's because that's what my two brothers were in college, so I'm not writing this out of any disdain for the Greek system (not too much anyway, though, I have to admit that there weren't too many Sig Kaps that I liked in school) Anywho, on with the story… **

**BPOV**

My classes went by relatively quickly on Monday, and I decided to walk over to the Sigma Kappa house since it was such a nice day. There were three girls laying out front on lounge chairs in bikinis sunning themselves in the rare, Washington sunshine. They each had a cup filled with a pink liquid sitting next to them, already imbibing and it's only 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Guess its five o'clock somewhere, right?" I mumbled to myself as I walked up the stairs to knock on the front door.

A girl with long, brown hair opened it, "Hi, are you a new pledge?"

"Um, possibly, Samantha told me to stop by for a tour after school today," I said.

"Bella?" Someone asked from behind the girl at the door.

Samantha stepped into view and invited me inside the house. I had to admit that it looked really nice – it was decorated like something out of a magazine and was immaculately clean. Samantha showed me the kitchen, living room and a very nice dining room where a couple of girls were sitting doing a quiz in Cosmo concerning whether they were a "good, little girl" or a "bad-ass chick;" clever.

Downstairs, there was a nice basement with a flat screen TV and pool table.

"Usually when we invite the Sig Pi's over here, they spend most of their time down here," Samantha said. "You know how boys are."

"Yeah, I imagine Emmett loves it down here."

"Are you and your brother close?"

"Yeah," I said. "He's one of my best friends."

"That's so sweet," she said genuinely. "I don't have any brothers or sisters, that's why I always knew I'd join a sorority, so I could know what sisterhood feels like."

I was really starting to like Samantha; she seemed like a nice person and she wasn't really pressuring me about joining like I thought she would. She was just treating me like a friend she was showing around her home, and I felt really comfortable.

We walked back upstairs and headed to the top floor where some of the girls' rooms were. We ran into Rosalie on the way, "You liking things so far?"

"Yeah, it's really nice and everybody's being really friendly," I said.

"Cool," she said as Samantha was temporarily distracted by another sister. "Look, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do; you know that, right?"

"I know," I said. "But, if you're in this sorority with me it won't be that bad, right?"

**EPOV**

I feel asleep the past two nights having visions of Bella Swan dance gracefully in my head – I know that sounds totally gay, but it's true. I was smitten.

She wasn't like the rest of these sorority hoes, she was sweet and real…and it didn't hurt that she had an impressive rack. _You pig! _Hey! Shut up, brain! I'm only human and I can look. _Yeah, but Bella's special, you should treat her with more respect than that! _I know, I know! But come on, she is gorgeous.

I was about to drift off into a daydream in my anatomy class about Bella when the professor called my name.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Would you care to name all of the parts of the endocrine system for us?"

"Sure," I said as I launched into the list of glands and organs. This class wasn't honestly that hard for me – this was just a reinforcement of stuff my dad's been drilling into my head since birth.

After my classes, I wandered out towards a coffee kiosk in the middle of campus when I noticed a familiar, short, voluptuous brunette walking in the direction of sorority row. It was Bella.

I paid for my coffee and followed her discreetly to her destination: the Sig Kap house. She's not a pledge, is she? I saw her walk inside and my heart dropped, I had to do something to dissuade her from becoming a sorority girl, especially a Sig Kap! She was too sweet and innocent to become like one of those girls – and, Emmett had charged me with keeping her safe.

I walked back to the Pi house and found Emmett playing Wii bowling with Jasper.

"Hey Em, did you know that Bella's pledging the Sig Kap house?" I asked.

"I know she's thinking about it," he said as he reared his hand back and released to roll the virtual ball down the lane. "And why not? She'd have Rose there to help her out."

"Yes, but wouldn't you feel better if she was just a normal, non-heinous college girl?"

"Actually, I'd like it if she joined something," he said turning to me. "She has a tendency to be anti-social and keep to her books, so I'd like her to have some real friends."

"But, she could join a club or something," I protested. "Once she's in with the Kaps, they'll suck her soul out and leave her an empty shell for the rest of her life."

"Wow Cullen," Jasper laughed. "Those girls have really messed with your head, huh?"

"That's what you get for sleeping with so many of them," Emmett replied as he took his turn with the game.

"You all know how manipulative and evil they can be," I said. "Sure, they're so sweet and nice to your face, but we all hear how they talk about each other behind their backs. Do you want Bella to turn into that, Em?"

"Look, Ed, chill please?" He said putting a hand on my shoulder. "She's a big girl, and I can't fight all of her battles for her – at least not on this front. If this is a choice she wants to make, I respect it; and you should too."

Emmett turned back and flicked his wrist to roll the ball once more; he rolled a strike.

"Ha! Suck it, Whitlock!"

"Shut up," Jasper said as he took his turn again.

"Besides," Emmett said suddenly. "Why do you care? You've only met my sister once, how can you already feel such a need to protect her?"

"She's rubbed off on me, I guess," I said. "She just seems so innocent and uncorrupted. And I've seen enough sweet girls go bad around here, I don't want to see one more join the ranks of the skanks."

"Ranks of the skanks?" Jasper laughed. "I'm going to have to use that one."

"Look, I appreciate your concern," Emmett said. "But Bella knows better than to become like one of those girls. She knows that I would literally kick her ass for that."

I relented and walked back upstairs; maybe I should talk to Bella herself, she seemed like she would listen to reason.

**BPOV**

My first week of college was officially behind me, and I was glad to have it over; though, it wasn't all that bad. My roommate was nice, a quiet girl named Angela Weber who was going to study nursing.

We were talking in our room when I got a call Friday night from Samantha, "Hey girl! You want to come to the house and hang with us tonight?"

"Sure," I said.

Samantha told me to wear a t-shirt and jeans, I thought it was weird that she was already requesting a certain wardrobe from me, but I decided to let it slide. I just got dressed and walked to the house where a few other girls were waiting, also dressed in jeans and t-shirts.

What's going on? Is this some kind of theme party?

I was about to walk up and knock on the door when Samantha, Rosalie and another girl opened the door and walked out on the porch.

"Hello pledges! Welcome to the first day of rush!" Samantha called and the girls around me started cheering. Rosalie shot me an apologetic look that said she'd explain later; I nodded.

The sisters welcomed us into the house and led us into the living room where everyone was sitting, waiting for us.

"OK, so I want all of the pledges to introduce themselves to the sisters," Samantha said. "Bella, why don't you start?"

"Um, I'm Bella Swan," I said. "Some of you may know my brother, Emmett; he's the president of Sigma Pi."

The sisters cheered the name; Samantha started asking me questions, "What are you majoring in?"

"I'm going to major in photography."

"Cool," she smiled. "And what do you do when you're not studying or taking pictures?"

"I read a lot," I said – some of the girls gave me a reproachful look at my last statement. What's so wrong with literacy?

"What do you read?" Samantha pressed.

"Anything and everything."

"Da Vinci Code?" Some girl asked.

Ugh, except that! I did not like that book at all.

"Um, no…but I love David Sedaris."

Just about everybody gave me a weird look, and I bowed my head and decided to stop talking. Thankfully, they moved on to the next victim; but I couldn't help but notice a few girls giving me strange looks, like I was some kind of freak.

The last two pledges seemed to be the biggest hits with the sisters: Lauren and Jessica. Both blond, both bubbly, both seemed to share a brain. They've been friends since childhood and couldn't bother to be separated by college. While I respected the friendship, I couldn't help but be annoyed by their overwhelming enthusiasm – they were like a couple of ferrets on meth.

After intros and a break to have some snacks and chit-chat, the third girl from before, I found out her name was Victoria, hopped up on a counter to get everyone's attention.

"Hi guys, I'm Victoria – and no, you cannot call me Vickie or Tori, it's Victoria – and we have a little tradition here for the first day of rush. We're going over to have a little party with our dearest friends, the Sigma Pi's."

The girls all cheered – it really didn't take much to get these girls excited. I stood off to the side as Rosalie found her way over to me, "Bells, I'm so sorry! I wanted to call and warn you, but Samantha beat me to it."

"It's OK, I mean, I actually am interested in joining," I said, not altogether convincingly.

"You may not be after tonight," she muttered.

Victoria was still holding court on the counter, trying to silence everyone, "There is a catch! There is a catch…our pledges need to help by being good little waitresses all night. Whatever the Sigs want to eat or drink – within reason, of course – you have to fetch for them."

We all stared at her in disbelief; we had to be servants for the night? It seemed like some of the girls were re-thinking the situation, but no one left – not even me.

"Oh," Victoria continued with an evil grin, "and you have to wear some special outfits to do it in; ladies, take the pledges upstairs to get ready, please?"

Rosalie stayed by my side as we were escorted upstairs, "Wait, what do I have to wear?"

"Don't worry; I knew this was coming so I already picked something out for you."

Rosalie and two other sisters took me to Rose's room to change me into a ladybug costume that Rose wore last Halloween. They put some red and black striped thigh highs on me and some long, black gloves with no fingers. Rosalie convinced the other girls to let me go without putting on the 6-inch, clear-plastic heels they had waiting for me.

"Just let her go in her tennis shoes," she said. "We're torturing her enough as it is."

I walked back downstairs to find my fellow pledges in various stages of dress: some were silly – one girl was dressed as a nun – and some were a bit too revealing. Lauren and Jessica were dressed as Bettie Boop and Rainbow Bright, respectively, and seemed ecstatic to be going into a house full of beered-up frat boys like that.

I tried to pull my costume down as much as I could without bringing the top down too far. My dress was a cute little tube dress with a black tutu around the bottom, but it was a bit too short – and I've never been a big fan of my thighs.

We all wandered down the street to the Pi house, and I kept my head low to try and avoid be hooted at by a passing car. Once at the steps of the house, Victoria stopped me and pulled me aside.

"Hey, I don't think that is approved footwear for this evening's festivities Miss Swan."

"Leave her alone, Victoria," Rosalie warned. "I approved them."

"I don't think so, Rose, that's not fair to the rest of the girls; they all have to wear heels, and so does Bella!"

"Well, unless you have an extra pair – that fits Bella – then I guess we're just going to have to go in as is," Rosalie said smugly.

"What size do you wear, Bella?"

"6 ½," I said.

"Wow, so do I," Victoria said as she pulled a pair of strapy, stripper-style shoes out of a bag. "And I brought spares…just in case."

I kicked off my Converse and handed them to Rosalie before putting the offending shoes on – this is going to be a long night. I walked in precariously and joined the pledges standing in the foyer, awaiting instruction.

"Now, the guys all know they have to behave themselves tonight," Samantha said. "This is supposed to be fun, so if you feel that a guy is getting handsy with you, let one of us know – you don't have to take that from them – and Emmett will have them thrown out of the party, Sig Pi or not."

"Let's go have fun, ladies," Victoria said as she herded us into the living room where we were met with hollers and whistles of approval.

One person didn't seem too thrilled to see me there – make that two – Emmett and Edward both looked livid. Emmett walked over to Rosalie and they started to have another intense discussion. I felt a hand on the small of my back and a pair of lips found their way to my ear.

"Hello, you're Bella right? Emmett's sister," a smooth voice asked.

I turned to find myself staring at a pair of piercing, blue eyes; they were set deep in a handsome yet rugged face that I recognized from my move into the dorms – this was James.

"Yes, and you're James," I said. "You helped me move in to my room."

"I did indeed," he said.  
"I'm sorry I never got to say thank you," I said, feeling uncomfortable under his intense glare. "Can I get you a beer or something?"

"Actually, it would be more of a thank you if you just stand here and talk to me," he said. "I'd like to get to know you better."

"Well, I'd like to do, but I'm afraid I'm working tonight," I replied.

"Yes, you're working for me, remember? And I request that you to come over here and talk to me."

He was getting really creepy at this point; luckily my savior came out of nowhere and thwarted him.

"Hey Bella, can you get me a Heineken? They're in the fridge," Edward said.

"Sure," I said turning to the kitchen, but James held onto my elbow.

"Do you mind, Cullen? Bella and I were talking."

"She's not here to talk, James, she's here to help," Edward said giving me a wink.

"And she's helping by keeping me company," James said through his teeth; I managed to wrench my arm out of his grasp and rushed into the kitchen.

I opened the fridge and grabbed a green bottle then turned to find a concerned Samantha behind me, "Are you OK? Did James do anything, because I know that guy can be super creepy sometimes?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Just getting Edward a beer."

She smiled and nodded as I walked back into the living room to find Edward leaning against a far wall with his head bowed, waiting for me. I walked over and tried not to trip in the stripper shoes. Once I was at his side, I could tell why he had his face down – he was trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked handing him the bottle.

"You're just a cute, little ladybug is all," he replied as he took a swig.

"Shut up! It's not like I picked this outfit," I said defensively.

"I would have picked it for you," he said with a sly smile. "It suits you, being a tiny bug."

"Thanks…I think."

"You're welcome."

"And thanks for saving me from James; he was starting to get a little too close."

"He is an intense human being," Edward agreed; he looked up at me with a curious expression. "So, do you really want to be a Sig Kap?"

"Jury's still out," I said. "Especially after tonight."

He chuckled as I reached down and pulled one of the shoes off, they were killing me already.

"Do you need to sit?" He asked as he grabbed my hips and placed me up on a barstool.

"It's these stupid shoes," I whined. "Rose and I had decided on me wearing my Chucks, but Victoria said I had to wear heels. She's a freakin' Nazi."

"And you haven't even seen her at her worst yet," he laughed.

"Aw, something to look forward to," I said as I pulled the other shoe off and Edward took it from me, inspecting it closely.

"Still can't see how women can walk in these, much less dance in them."

"I guess if you're getting paid hundreds of dollars a night to do it, it's probably worth the pain," I said.

"It would have to be at least that much to get be to wear these for any length of time."

"I should hope so," I laughed.

He chuckled and looked around to see if we were being watched. He took the pair of heels and stuck them under a large duffle bag on the floor.

"You saw nothing," he ordered in mock seriousness.

"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"So, how was your first week of school?" He asked as he took my left foot in his hands and began to rub it.

"Good, not much different from high school – just more freedom, which is nice."

"What classes are you taking?"

"General stuff – English, geography, math…I don't even have a photo class yet."

"Studying photography?"

"Yeah, I need to start building up a portfolio so I can apply to shoot for the campus newspaper next semester."

"Cool, do you want to work in photojournalism?"

"No, but it's a good start."

"True."

"What do you study?" I asked as he moved to my right foot.

"I'm pre-med."

"Seriously? That's so cool, what kind of doctor do you want to be?"

"Not sure yet," he said. "My dad's a general practitioner in Seattle, so I may just follow in his footsteps."

"That sounds nice," I said. "Has he been kind of a role model for you?"

"Role model…pusher…something like that."

"I see," I gave a little chuckle. "What about your mom? What does she do?"

"She works part-time for an auction house."

"Cool," I said as he placed my foot back down and started rubbing my knee gently. He was about to say something else when my new, flame-haired tormentor found her way over to me.

"Is this what you call serving, Swan? Letting Edward rub your feet for you? And where are those shoes? You better not have lost them," Victoria's face was getting as red as her hair by the time she was done yelling at me.

Edward walked over to the bag and pulled the shoes out from under it; he handed them to Victoria, "Here they are – chill."

Victoria sneered at him before dropping them in my lap, "Get back to work."

She walked away as I started strapping the shoes back on.

**EPOV**

I watched as the bitch walked away; how dare she talk to Bella like that? Who the hell does she think she is, anyway? I turned to Bella who was putting the absurd heels back on and standing up.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" I explained. "This is just rush, you can quit any time you want; no one will think any less of you."

"Emmett will," she said. "He thinks I'm too introverted so I promised him I'd try. And giving up after the first day isn't trying."

"Bells, he just wants you to be happy," I countered. "And, trust me, this isn't going to make you happy."

"Well, I'm sticking it out for the time being," she said. "But, thanks for caring."

She walked away and I felt the tightness in my chest become even more unbearable. What was with me? How could it hurt so much to watch her walk away from me? Oh, yeah, I forgot…I'm in love with her.

**Still haven't found a name! Even after all of this writing! GAHHHHHHHHH!! OK, rant over…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, feed my ego and ye shall receive…or something like that Well, feed my ego and ye shall receive…or something like that! You all are fabulous! 32 reviews already? Damn! **

**And, once again, thanks to Ksangi for coming up with a title! You rock! **

**BPOV**

Getting through rush ended up being easier than I thought it would be. Then again, after surviving that first night, I'm sure everything else just seemed simple in comparison.

I got a call from Samantha on Tuesday asking to meet with her, Rosalie and Victoria at the Kap house after class.

I showed up to find a very excited Samantha, a very solemn Rose and a very incredulous Victoria. We all sat in the dining room.

"So Bella, did you have fun this weekend?" Samantha asked.

"Yes, I did," I said. "It was nice to get to know everyone."

"Particularly certain Sig Pi's, right?" Victoria spat.

"Victoria!" Samantha warned. "Sorry Bella; anyway, we really like you and we want to offer you a bid to join Sig Kap. But, you don't have to decide know, you have 24 hours to think it over. Give me a call when you've made your decision."

"Great! Thank you," I said as Rosalie shook her head and sighed.

Victoria sneered at me as I stood up and shook hands with Samantha before I left. I was on my way back to my dorm when I spotted my brother's car pull up down the street to the Pi house. I walked over to help him and Jasper bring their groceries into the house.

"Hey sis!" Emmett said. "How did it go? Did they make you an offer?"

"Yeah," I said. "I have a day to decide."

"Do you think you'll accept?" He asked excitedly. "It could be a great experience for you."

"You know what? I think I will," I said. "Some of the girls are a little iffy, but I really like Samantha and hanging out with Rose more often will be fun."

"Awesome," Emmett said.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed. "Now I can honestly say there's a girl in Sig Kap I actually like."

We put the food away and sat down to play a round of Mario Kart on Wii. It always annoys my brother when I beat him at any video game, especially when I do my little victory dance afterwards (imagine something akin to the Ed Lover dance from Yo! MTV raps).

I was into my dance when I heard a chuckle come from the vicinity of the stairs; I turned to find Edward leaning against the railing, watching me. I dropped back down on the couch and tried to compose myself. Edward walked into the room and sat in the chair by the couch.

"Is it my turn next?" He asked.

"Sure, I'm tired of getting my butt kicked," Emmett said, tossing him the controller. "You see if you can beat her."

Emmett got up to get a drink and Edward took his place next to me. I started a new game and we were off. It was pretty tame until his guy sideswiped mine and pushed me off the track.

"Hey!" I protested.

"Ah come on," he grinned. "This isn't supposed to be some nice little race, is it?"

"OK, let's see how you like this," I said as I steered my character through a Mega Mushroom box and increased the size of my player. I drove off of a precipice and landed on Edward's character, crushing him. I then proceeded to the finish line before Edward's guy had any time to recover.

"Ha!" I said as I jumped out of my seat and, without thinking, started into the dance.

After a moment, I stopped and looked over to Edward who was leaning back against the couch watching me make a fool out of myself. _Why can't I stop doing that?_ Because I'm a dork, that's why.

I sat back down and cleared my throat, "Do you want to play again?"

"Only if you do that dance again if you win," he replied; I couldn't tell if he was being mean or not. Did he like the dance or something?

**EPOV**

The sound of her beautiful voice floated up to my room the moment she entered the house. I put my homework aside and put on a clean shirt before walking down to find Bella seated on our couch with Emmett, playing a video game. She beat him easily and then jumped up and started doing the cutest dance I've ever seen in my life.

I couldn't help myself, the chuckle left my lips before I had a chance to stop it. She turned and her face turned bright red before she sat back down. I sat in the chair next to the couch and inquired when my turn would be.

"You see if you can beat her," Emmett said as he handed me his controller before he walked out of the room.

Bella started the game – I took the first defensive move.

"Hey!" She cried.

"This isn't supposed to be some nice little race, is it?" I countered.

"OK, let's see how you like this," she said as she managed to find a Mega Mushroom box.

I knew what was coming, and I could have easily avoided it – Bella was going to find a way to crush my character before her guy lost his newfound massive size. I could have grabbed a box to increase my speed, or simply moved out of the way and crossed the finish line first. But I didn't; if losing meant that I would get to see Bella get up and dance again, I would let her beat me a million times.

She crushed me and won the game.

"Ha!" She yelled as she went into the dance once more. After a moment, she realized she was doing it again and sat back down, embarrassed. The blush in her cheeks was almost too much to resist.

"Do you want to play again?" She asked.

"Only if you do that dance again if you win," I said.

She laughed nervously and started a new game. She won again but didn't stand up and I looked at her with amusement.

"No dance this time?"

"I'm saving it for a really big win," she said with a smirk. "You have to earn the next dance; you can't just let me win."

She was on to me, but I didn't care. As much as I wanted to deny the fact that I liked her, I couldn't lie to myself. But, I wasn't going to rush into things; I would slowly win her over. She is smart and funny, but she's also naïve and shy – I know that this is going to take some time.

Jasper and some of the other guys came downstairs and interrupted our quality time. Sometimes I really hate being around all of these guys.

Bella remembered she had to go back to her dorm and read something, but I didn't want to let her go just yet, "Stay and have dinner."

"I was just going to grab something from the dining hall," she said.

"Well, at least let me drive you over," I said as I grabbed a coat.

"You don't have to, it's not far."

"Bella, I'm giving you a damn ride," I said with a laugh. "Come on."

**BPOV**

I was spending a lot of time away from my dorm; it seemed like I was either in class, at the Kap house or at the Pi house. Luckily, my classes weren't so intellectually demanding that I needed to spend too much time studying for them. My geography class was particularly easy; it was stuff I've known since middle school.

Usually, I would head over to the Kap house right after class to hang out with Rosalie for a bit, but once everyone was sitting around chatting about whatever asinine subject was gossip of the day, I managed to sneak out and go to the Pi house to play Mario Kart with Edward.

After a while, he was texting me to find out when I'd be coming over. It was strange, I wasn't sure if we were just friends or what. He seemed to really like me a lot, and lord knows I am completely head over heels for him. But still, we never talked about a relationship or anything.

It's Saturday night, and instead of heading out to the bars with the rest of the Pi boys and Kap girls, Edward and I stayed in and ordered some Chinese food. We had gotten bored of the Mario Kart, so we moved on to Rayman. I found the idea of shooting bunnies with plungers to be at once offensive and hilarious.

After Edward and I got through playing and laughing ourselves silly, we sat on the floor in front of the couch. We reached for the last egg roll at the same time and our hands brushed, causing a warm sensation to run up my arm.

"Sorry," I said as I pulled my hand back.

"No, go ahead and take the roll," he said.

"It's OK, I'm fine, I'll just have a fortune cookie."

I grabbed the wrapped cookie from the table and popped it open; I removed the fortune before I crunched on half of the cookie and read the saying aloud, "There is true and sincere friendship between you both."

Edward smiled and picked up the other cookie. He didn't bother eating it; he just broke it open and read his own fortune to himself. His face became suddenly serious as he took in what it said.

"What?" I asked. "Is it good or bad?"

"I don't know," he said. "It's confusing."

"What does it say?"

"It's my fortune, I don't need to tell you," he teased.

"I read you mine!"

"I didn't make you," he countered, "You did it voluntarily."

"Oh, so you won't volunteer yours? That's not fair."

"I never said I play fair," he said as he turned to me with an evil grin. He was up to no good.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he started to inch closer to me.

Suddenly, he was attacking the sides of my ribs – tickling me like no one ever has. I was out of breath in no time.

"Stop!" I choked out. "I can't breathe."

He ceased his torture but he remained in his position: hovering just over me with his hands braced on either side of my head. It was just then that I realized I was on my back in front of the couch.

His lips were mere inches from mine and his eyes held an expression I'd never seen in any boys' eyes as he looked at me – but I'm pretty sure it's called lust. He brushed his lips across mine and pulled back to gauge my reaction; but I wasn't sure how to react, so I just lay there and stared at him.

He went in a second time and I tilted my face away slightly; he pulled back, "What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"It's not that," I said. "It's just, a little fast for me."

"Please Bella? I just want to kiss you," he said. "I won't take it any further than that, I promise."

I looked into his eyes to see he was being completely sincere; he leaned in again and I didn't stop him from placing his lips on mine this time. He gently nibbled and sucked at my bottom lip and I gasped at the feeling. He took advantage of my now parted lips and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

As our tongues softly dance around each other, I was struck by how comfortable I was with this situation. It wasn't as if I'd never made out with a guy before – Jacob and I had done it plenty of times. But it was never like this, Jacob was too young and inexperienced to know what to do; and I was in the same boat.

Edward, however, had a subtle expertise in making out. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Where Jacob would bite my lip too hard or, occasionally, slobber on me a little bit, Edward knew how to nibble just hard enough to feel incredible – and he kept his saliva under control.

He pulled back and smiled down at me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He brushed his nose against mine and we both chuckled.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked.

"Sure."

**EPOV**

Bella and I had decided on _Undercover Brother_, but since it was already midnight by the time we started it, Bella was asleep well before it was over. We were lying on the couch and I was stretched out behind her. She was breathing through her slightly parted lips that were still swollen from my kisses.

It was probably the best make out session I had ever had. She was sweet and so inexperienced, it was cute. Her lips were soft and they tasted wonderful, and that tongue…don't even get me started.

She looked so peaceful sleeping there, but I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible so I lifted her gently and carried her upstairs. I placed her on my bed and pulled her shoes off; she was wearing a pair of long, black shorts that I didn't think she'd really want to sleep in.

"Bella," I whispered. "Do you want to get out of those shorts?"

I hoped that didn't sound too sleazy, but she didn't seem to notice either way. She didn't even open her eyes as she breathed a sleepy "sure."

I unzipped the shorts and pulled them down her legs before throwing them over to where I put her shoes. She had on a pair of those boy-short style panties, which I was very thankful for – if she had on anything too revealing, I might not be able to remain a gentleman.

I slid into the bed behind her and pulled the covers over us; she snuggled into my chest as I drifted off to sleep with a huge smile on my face.

A noise from downstairs woke me up the next morning. I reached out to find that Bella was no longer in front of me – I figured she must be the culprit behind the noise.

**BPOV**

When I woke up, it took me a while to realize that I was wrapped in a pair of warm, strong arms. I turned my head to find the beautiful face of Edward Cullen just inches from mine – he was deep in blissful sleep.

How did I get here? I can't remember much about last night after the part where Edward was kissing me; I was in a daze after that. I also noticed that I was in my panties and t-shirt. Did we do something?

I started to panic a bit; I got out of the bed softly so I wouldn't wake him and put my shorts and shoes back on. I walked downstairs to leave when one of the steps creaked at an unreal decibel level. _Stupid, Judas stair! _I took the rest of them even more slowly so I didn't make anymore noise.

"Bella?" I stopped at the last step when I heard Edward call my name, but I didn't turn around.

He started down towards me and I put my hand on the banister to keep my balance. He stopped beside me and gave me a concerned look.

"What's wrong? Did something come up?" He asked.

"No, why?"

"Well, if nothing came up, then why are you leaving?"

"I…just think I should get back to my dorm."

"But…why?"

I looked down to my shoes and bit my lip – why was he making this so difficult?

"Why do you want me to stay?" I asked. "And, why did I have my shorts off when I woke up this morning?"

"I asked you if you wanted them off and you said yes," he said. "And I want you to stay because I want to spend time with you."

"What kind of 'time?'"

Before he could answer, James wandered in from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"I thought I heard voices out here. Bella, it's nice to see you again."

"Hi James," I said quietly.

He was about to walk upstairs when he turned suddenly, "Oh, Bella, I almost forgot; the Pi's have a little retreat weekend every year and we get to bring a date. Would you want to go with me?"

I was speechless, I didn't really want to go with James, but I had no reason to say no. It's not like anyone else had asked me. But, before I had a chance to answer, Edward spoke up.

"She's going with me, James."

"Really? Bella, has Edward already asked you?" Oh, he's good.

I looked to Edward whose eyes pleaded with me to play along – so I did.

"Yeah, he asked me the other day," I said.

James looked from me to Edward and back again before shaking his head and walking up to his room. Once his door closed, I started towards the front door again only to be spun around by Edward.

"Please don't leave," he hissed. "We need to talk."

"About what?" I hissed back, trying to jerk my arm out of his grasp.

"Please," he repeated more gently this time. "Let's go back upstairs and talk."

I was about to jerk away again, but decided to just hear him out, "Fine."

I stomped up the stairs and went back into Edward's room with him hot on my heels. He closed the door behind him and turned to me; he ran his hands through his hair like he was thinking of what to say.

"What do we need to talk about, Edward? How you're acting all possessive and weird even though you're not my boyfriend? Or how you seem to be so into me but you didn't even have the nerve to invite me to you retreat weekend until James asked me?"

I stood with my hands on my hips and waited for him to answer. He sat on his bed and put his face in his hands for a moment; he looked up at me with a determined expression.

"I'm acting all possessive, because I want to be your boyfriend," he said. "I've been trying to show you every day that I want to be a part of your life, and I thought you realized how much I care about you. I mean, why else do you think I invite you over here all the time?"

"W-we're friends," I stuttered with a shrug, but he was right, most cute single guys wouldn't invite their single girl friends over to their houses every night just because.

"I don't want to be just your friend," he said. "I want to be your boyfriend, and I wasn't going to ask you to the weekend trip because I wasn't planning on going myself. I was hoping we could stay here and spend the weekend together."

"Oh," I replied quietly; I felt really stupid now. "Really? You wanted to just spend the weekend together? We…we could still do that…I mean, if you still want to, that is."

"Actually, no, I don't think I want to do that anymore," he said; my heart dropped – he changed his mind.

He looked up at me with a sly smile, "I want us to go on the trip together. It'll be fun, don't you think?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Yeah that sounds like a lot of fun."

"Good," he said as he stood up and approached me. "So, no more confusion, right? You're my girlfriend?"

I nodded shyly as he chuckled and placed his hand on the side of my neck. He leaned in and kissed me slowly, sweetly.

He pulled back and smiled at me, "I'm glad we cleared that up."

**That's all for this chapter, but I may be working on the next one before the day is over…stay tuned.**


	4. Chapter 4

**As promised, another chapter (Sunday two-fer)**

**BPOV  
**

Edward dropped me off at my dorm on Sunday night, and I was completely euphoric. I spent all weekend at the Pi house with him; we mostly sat in his room and talked.

Monday after classes, I practically skipped over to the Kap house and found Rosalie studying in the dining room.

"Wow Bells," she said. "You're in a good mood, what's up? Did you meet someone?"

I was still afraid to talk to Rose about this because I wasn't 100 percent sure that she wouldn't tell Emmett, but I decided to throw caution into the wind.

"Well, since you asked, I did meet someone; not recently or anything, but we've finally started dating."

"Is it…it's not Edward is it?" She asked, putting her book aside.

"Yeah, it is," I replied shyly; it was still unreal to think that I was actually dating him.

"Bella, I want you to promise me you'll be careful with this, OK?"

"What do you mean? I thought you liked Edward."

"I do, Bella, he's such a great guy," she said. "But, he's also 21 and he has a lot more experience than you. I just don't want you to get hurt or end up doing something you'll regret."

I nodded, "I know you want what's best for me, but you also have to trust that I'll do the right thing on my own. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Are you saying this to appease more or are you practicing for when you talk to Emmett?" she asked.

"A bit of both I guess."

She laughed and stood up to hug me, "I do trust you, sweetie; and I am happy for you. I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy."

"Thanks," I said, hugging her back.

"So," she began as she pulled away, "I assume you're going with him this weekend, right?"

"Going where this weekend?" Samantha asked as she walked into the room.

"Oh, she's going to the Sig Pi retreat this weekend," Rosalie said.

"Cool, with whom?" She asked, waggling her eyebrows at me.

"Edward Cullen," I said.

"Oooo Bella!" She giggled. "He's so hot, good going girl! Is it just a friend thing or are you two dating now?"

"Um, he asked me to be his girlfriend this weekend," I said.

"About time," she replied. "You've been spending enough time with him, I was wondering when he was going to finally ask you out."

"It was that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," she laughed. "Every time I saw you two together, you were looking at each other like a couple of lost puppies."

I felt my face start to heat up as she and Rosalie laughed. Samantha put an arm around me and led me into the kitchen.

"Well, I guess this means we have to go shopping before the weekend," she said.

"Why?"

"You need to get a dress to wear on the retreat," she said. "Every year they have a big, fancy dinner, so you need to look fabulous. And, with a new boyfriend and all, I think we need to go all out."

"I don't really have any money to get a new dress," I said.

"Don't worry about that, Bells," Rosalie said. "We'll take care of you."

Wednesday afternoon, the three of us drove across the state line to Moscow, Idaho to find a dress at the Palouse Mall. We stopped at a Macy's and I was a bit overwhelmed by how into the process the other two girls were.

They refused to let me look at a price tag as we wandered the racks and found an array of pretty dresses. I wanted to stick to blue, I kind of think it's my best color, but Rosalie and Samantha kept pulling dresses that were pink, red and every color in between.

"Really, pink?" I asked. "How about this one? It's nice and safe."

I grabbed a dark blue chiffon dress with a high neckline. Samantha took one look at it and scoffed.

"Please Bella? Do you really picture Edward drooling over you in that thing? You need something smashing."

"Like this," Rosalie said as she held up a salmon-colored dress that looked like it wouldn't leave much to the imagination.

"I don't know, Rose, I do want something that will make Edward go crazy, but I don't want something that will make Emmett burst a blood vessel from his colossal, inevitable freak out."

"Try it on, and if it's too revealing we'll find something else," Rosalie said as she handed me the dress.

"Find, but I'm taking this one too, just in case," I said as I grabbed the blue dress and ran to the dressing room before either one of them could stop me.

I did end up getting the dress Rose picked out, it was just too good; and I pretended not to notice when the cash register read $315. We went back to the Kap house and I left the dress with Rosalie for safekeeping.

"Where were you three?" Victoria asked as we walked in. She gave me here dirtiest look; I've come to the conclusion that she thinks I'm trying to replace her somehow.

"We went to Moscow to find a dress for Bella," Samantha said. "She's going to the Sig Pi retreat with Edward."

"Humph," Victoria said with disdain. "Well, how nice for you."

"Oh, that reminds me, I said I'd make some cookies for Emmett tonight," Rosalie said as she got me away from Victoria as quickly as possible. "Want to help, Bells?"

"Sure," I said. "I just happen to know the recipe for his favorite cookies by heart."

"Excellent, you take the lead on this one."

"OK, I know how hopeless you are in the kitchen," I teased.

"It's true, I'm no homemaker."

"That you aren't," I said. "Can I go change first?"

I changed into a pair of Rosalie's pink shorts and a t-shirt so I wouldn't get flour all over my nice clothes. I was combining the dry ingredients with the butter/sugar mixture when I heard some voices come in through the front door. It was Emmett and a couple of other guys, so I decided to just keep my head down and concentrate on my work. I added the last bit in and let the mixer run to mix everything together.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on the small of my back, "Working hard?"

I turned to Edward with a smile and he kissed me on my forehead.

"Hey, what are you up to? Get tired of the Pi house?"

"Just haven't seen my girl in a while."

**EPOV**

It was about 5 p.m. by the time I got out of my last class, and when I got home the boys were already restless.

"Come on, man, are we gonna go eat or what?" Asked Mike Newton, a sophomore. That kid really gets on my nerves sometimes.

"Hang on," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. "We're going to go to the Kap house and pick up the girls and then we'll go. Besides, Rose owes me some cookies."

"Hey, keep your personal life to yourself," Jasper quipped as he walked into the room.

"Shut up," Emmett said. "Come on, whoever's coming better get a damn move on."

We piled into Emmett's Jeep and my Volvo to drive over to the Kap house. I was willing to put up with a car full of loud, obnoxious underclassmen messing up my leather seats if it meant that I got to see my Bella again.

As we walked in, she was standing in the kitchen with her back to me in front of a mixer. She was wearing a pair of incredible short pink shorts and a white shirt; I walked over and fought the urge to reach out and grab a handful of her cute, little backside. I opted to put my hand on her back instead.

"Working hard," I asked, trying to sound sexy.

She turned to me with that sweet smile and I almost melted right then and there.

"Hey, what are you up to?" She asked after I gave her a kiss. "Get tired of the Pi house?"

"Just haven't seen my girl in a while," I said as I put my arms around her.

"Are you guys going out to dinner with us?" Rosalie asked, interrupting our moment.

"I need to change first," Bella said as she wiped a bit of flour off of her shorts.

"Hey," Newton said. "We aren't going to have enough room if every girl goes with us."

"Looks like you're walking then, Newton," I said.

He flipped me off and continued to flirt shamelessly with some freshman girl – I think her name is Jessica. I turned back to my angel and beheld her adoringly.

"You don't need to change, you look beautiful."

"I'm not going out in this, it's just what I'm wearing to make cookies," she laughed. "I'll be two minutes."

She ran upstairs and Rosalie followed; they took a bit longer than expected, but when they arrived, Bella was wearing some jeans and a cute, blue top. I guessed that Rosalie had had some input on the wardrobe change.

"You look so beautiful," I said as I nuzzled her nose with my own.

"Cullen! What the hell are you doing?" Emmett yelled as he walked into the foyer.

"Emmett," Rosalie warned, "Calm down."

"Stay out of this, Rose," Emmett said as he walked towards me with an intense glare. "I want to know why my best friend is over here putting the moves on my sister."

"Em, Bella and I are dating; we haven't been together long, so that's why we haven't told you yet – it's still new to us."

"I don't care how new it is, I want it to be over…now!" Emmett said.

"Emmett, stop it! You can't tell me who I can and cannot date!" Bella said. "I'm 18."

Emmett took a deep and ran a hand over his face, "Are either one of you even considering how I might feel about this situation? You're my sister and he's my best friend – do you see the position this puts me in? What if you two break up? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, then."

"Are you considering how we feel, Emmett?" Bella asked. "We really like each other, and if we were to just try and ignore our feelings for your sake, we'd be miserable. Is that what you want? Do you want me to be miserable?"

"You could be happy with someone else, Bells," Emmett said.

"You're right, Em; she probably could," I said as Bella gave me a look of disbelief – I winked at her to let her know I had a plan. "But…I couldn't be happy with anyone else. So, as long as Bella is happy being with me, then I am going make damn sure I'm there for her – no matter how she needs me."

Emmett stood back and looked at me for a moment, "You really like my sister that much, Cullen?"

"More than that," I said.

He turned back to Bella, "And you would really be miserable if you couldn't see Ed?"

"Yes," she said. "I'd be down right inconsolable."

Emmett chuckled and shook his head, "God damn, my sister and my best friend. Well, you two better know what you're doing."

**Sig Pi retreat (part 1)**

**BPOV**

We left right after school on Friday and drove for five hours to get to the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson. It was so beautiful, though, that it made the long trip worth it. And my company was even better looking than the scenery.

I tried to take my bags out of the back of the car and carry them to our room, but Edward wouldn't let me.

"No," he said. "You go on ahead, I'll take care of these. We're in room 311."

He handed me the key card and I followed Rosalie inside, our rooms would be right by each other.

"Great," I said unenthusiastically. "I'm guessing Emmett will be thrilled that he can check in on us at any time."

Rosalie smiled as she put her card into the reader on the front of the door; I did the same and walked into a gorgeous room with two queen-sized beds.

"Wow," I said to myself as I looked around. "This is the nicest hotel room I've ever been in."

"Did you say something?" Edward asked as he came into the room with our stuff.

"I was just saying that this is the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in."

He smiled, "You're an easy woman to please."

He took another look around the room and frowned, "I don't think I requested this room, though."

"Really? What did you request?"

"Well, I called them last week and asked for a room with one king-size bed, not two beds."

"This will be OK," I said.

"No it won't," he said as he started out the door. "Not when it's not what I wanted."

I sat on the bed and waited for Edward to come back. After ten minutes, I decided to turn on the TV; just then, he came back in and started grabbing our bags.

"Come on, they're moving us up to the next floor."

"But, aren't they're only executive suites on the top floor?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said a bit sheepishly. "Since they screwed up our reservation, and there's no place else to put us, we get one of the suites."

"Wow, I'm impressed Cullen."

"I do live to impress you," he smiled.

We walked back to the elevator as Emmett and Rosalie were coming out of their room.

"Where are you two going?" Emmett asked. "I thought you were in 311."

"Not anymore," Edward said. "I got us a suite – room 402."

"Freakin' Cullen! You always manage to get upgrades, don't you?"

Edward just smiled as the doors closed. Once we got into our new room, I was in awe all over again.

"So, strike my previous statement – THIS is the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in," I said.

This room had a fireplace and a plasma screen TV, plus an amazing view of the Columbia River. Edward was putting the suitcases in a closet as we heard a knock on the door.

Emmett barged in as soon as Edward opened the door. "You didn't think we were just going to let you two enjoy this nice place alone, did you?"

"I guess not," Edward said as he let Rosalie in and closed the door.

"So, are you guys ready for dinner," she said as she took in the room.

"I am," I said as I grabbed my purse and started towards the door.

We went to the restaurant in the resort and sat at a table with Jasper and his date, a Delta named Kari, and Samantha with her boyfriend, Eric. As we were waiting for our dinner to come, I noticed James staring at me from another table. He was seated next to a girl with strawberry blond hair who was also staring at me. I turned to Edward, "Do you know who the girl is over there with James?"  
Edward looked over and his face suddenly went white as a sheet. I guess he knew her.

"Who is she?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"Um, her name is Tanya," he said quietly as he took a swig of beer.

"Where do you know her from?"

"She used to be a Kap," Rosalie said. "She got kicked out."

"Why?"

"Why didn't Tanya get kicked out?" Emmett quipped. "She did everything but blow the dean, I'm pretty sure."

"And that's just because Dean Smith is a woman," Jasper said. "And Tanya only swings that way when she's drunk."

"She's just bad news," Edward said. "I don't know why James would bring her."

"I think I have a pretty good idea," Jasper said.

We enjoyed the rest of our meal in silence and ordered some dessert.

"Bells, I'm off to the bathroom, want to join?" Rosalie asked.

"Sure," I said as I left my purse with Edward and walked with Rose to the ladies' room. Once we were in there, Rosalie used one of the stalls while I stood in front of the mirror and made sure my hair was behaving. Suddenly, Victoria and that Tanya girl walked in – I thought I had sensed an evil presence approaching.

"Hi Bella, have you ever met Tanya?" Victoria asked.

"No; hi, I'm Bella," I said as I turned to acknowledge her briefly.

"Bella here is Emmett Swan's sister, she just pledged with us," Victoria said.

"And she seems to enjoy the company," Tanya said in a voice that sent chills down my spine, and not in a good way. "Particularly Edward Cullen's."

"Indeed," Victoria said. "They're the latest hot couple."

"For now," Tanya quipped.

"Shut up you two," Rosalie warned as she came out of her stall. "I know what you're trying to do, so just stop. Edward isn't the same as he used to be, and Bella knows this."

"Same as he used to be?" I asked.

"Ahhh, he didn't tell you?" Tanya asked in a baby voice. "He's had sex with just about every girl in Kap house."

"He has not," Rosalie said. "Sure, he had his bad moments, like sleeping with you, but he is a one-woman man now."

"Cheetahs don't change their spots," Tanya said. "Edward will always be a horn dog."

"If you'll excuse us," Rosalie said as she grabbed my arm. "We're leaving before we are contaminated by the likes of you."

Rose pulled me back to my seat, but the words of Tanya and Victoria were stuck in my head. And Rose didn't necessarily disagree with the whole 'Edward is a horn dog' part.

Has he slept around a lot? I need to get to the bottom of this.

**OK, I know I've had some sort of shopping scene in all of my stories so far, but I tried to keep this one short. They're just so much fun to write, though! And there you have it, your Sunday two-fer!**


	5. Chapter 5

**You are all so awesome You are all so awesome! You make me want to write three chapters a day (but, unfortunately I DO have to work, so I've gotta stick to one) **

**Sigma Pi retreat (part 2) **

**BPOV**

Our dessert was on the table as soon as we got back.

"Good timing," Edward said as he leaned over to give me a kiss.

We ate our cheesecake and sat back to chat while music started to play in the background of the restaurant. A nice, soft song started to float through the air that made me close my eyes and sway gently to the rhythm. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my knee.

"Do you want to dance?" Edward asked.

"Yes," I said as he helped me out of my seat.

He led me out to the dance floor, and I couldn't help but feel a few pairs of eyes burning holes into my flesh. Edward twirled me around and I noticed James standing up and extending his hand to Tanya, who grinned evilly and stood with him.

What are they up to?

**EPOV**

All through dinner I sat in tense anticipation of Bella's questions. As soon as she pointed out Tanya to me, I felt like an animal was trying to burrow into my stomach. I knew that Bella was going to eventually question me about how I knew her; I couldn't help but react the way I did to seeing her again – Tanya, the one who almost ruined me for all women.

But why did she have to show up now; just when I was finding happiness again. I knew James didn't think much of me, but how could he ever even presume to bring Tanya around me? Because he wants Bella, that's plain to see – he really knows what he's doing.

When Bella and Rosalie were followed into the bathroom by Victoria and Tanya, I prepared myself for the worst. But, I waited to see if Bella said anything first.

When she didn't, I wasn't as relieved as I hoped I would be. Now it seemed it was all up to me to explain my past to her, and that was not something I wanted to revisit.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked Bella as she sat near me, swaying to the music.

"Yes."

I helped her up and led her away from the table; I twirled her once and saw that James and Tanya were preparing to join us on the dance floor. Crap! This had the potential to go very badly.

I pulled Bella close to me and tried to just concentrate on her beautiful face. But her expression was not one of happiness – she looked worried, like she wanted to ask me something. I held my breath and waited for her to speak.

"Did…did you date Tanya at one time?" She asked.

Well, I guess we're going to get into this now. "Yes."

She nodded and rested her head against my chest. That was it? That's all she wanted to know? I breathed a sigh of relief and placed my head on the top of hers.

"Hello Edward," I heard a voice say from behind me – a voice I had hoped I'd never hear again.

I refused to turn around; I had already told her that she no longer existed to me. But she was always a stubborn one – she and James steered themselves into my view and both gave me an evil glare.

"Cullen, don't be rude," James said. "Tanya said hi."

I felt Bella's arms tighten around my neck and I rubbed her back reassuringly as I twirled us around and headed back to the table without a word. I pulled her chair out for her, but she didn't sit. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes and asked if we could just go back to our room.

"Of course," I said as she reached down to grab her purse. I took her hand and led her back to the elevator.

Once we were in our room, she threw her purse on the table and kicked her shoes off. She sat on the couch and stared into nothingness, as though she was debating what she would say next. I couldn't take it; I sat next to her and took her hands in mine.

"Tanya and I dated for a few weeks last winter," I began. "She was the first girl I could say I really dated in college; before her, I just went out with a few other girls from time to time, but never had anything serious. I thought college was all about playing the field, so I refused to let a girl tie me down, and that's why I liked Tanya – she was the same way. She wouldn't tie me down and in the beginning of our relationship we were still seeing other people.

"After a while, I thought we were starting to become more of an exclusive couple. I even told her that I just wanted to date her and nobody else. Then she did something pretty unforgivable – she slept with James. I know that might not surprise you now, considering how we hate each other, but he used to be my best friend. We went to high school together and decided we would go to the same college and join the same fraternity. We also made a pact that we'd never date the same girl – because brother's don't do that to each other."

I looked up from her hands to see if she was still with me, and her eyes told me she was hanging on every word.

"So, I confronted them both about it, and Tanya said it was none of my business who she slept with and how dare I try to control her like that. James just shrugged it off and said he didn't think I'd mind since I slept with other girls anyway."

She tensed at that, I could tell she didn't like the idea of me sleeping around. I tried to reassure her quickly.

"That's when I decided to give up the whole carefree lifestyle," I said as I placed a hand on her cheek. "I want to just be your boyfriend, and nothing else. Do you believe me?"

She looked in my eyes and nodded.

"And, do you trust that I will never cheat on you?" Again, she nodded.

"Good," I said as I leaned forward to place my forehead against hers. "You're the only girl for me, Bella."

She smiled and tilted her head so I could have access to her lips. I took full advantage of the moment and moved my hands to her face as I attacked her lips. I'm sure I'll never get tired of kissing her.

She sighed and opened her mouth so I could slide my tongue in to mate with hers. I lifted her up and carried her to the bed, where we continued to kiss and caress each other. I had begun to lift he shirt up a bit and ran my fingers gently up and down her torso. Everything about her was completely intoxicating – and I felt a surge of sadness course through me as she pushed me away.

**BPOV**

I can't even describe how it felt to sit there and listen to Edward pour his heart out to me – it was such a strange mix of emotions. Happiness that he loved me, sadness for what he had been through and jealousy of hearing about the girls he had slept with. He had to know I was a virgin, it's not like I give off an aura of experience, and I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to know how many girls he had been with; would it matter? It wouldn't change the way I felt about him.

Would it?

I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me – I lay there and stared at him thoughtfully. His eyes showed me how hurt he was that I was pushing him away, but I placed a gentle hand on his face and smiled. I needed to know how much he loved me; I had to set some kind of boundary – a test, if you will.

"Edward, you know I'm…not very experienced," he nodded, "and I know that you are. You just talked about how you used to sleep around a lot and how you don't want to be that guy anymore."

He tilted his head and beheld me curiously, he was probably wondering where I was going with this.

"I don't care how many girls you've been with – that's your past," I said, trying to muster up every ounce of my courage. "But, if I'm going to be your future, I need to know that you mean everything you say. If you want to be a different man, then I think we should come to an agreement – if we're serious about this, and can stay together one month without anything going wrong, then we can have sex."

He rolled over and lay on his side, still holding my gaze as we moved. I could tell he didn't know what to make of this – he wasn't used to girls issuing him ultimatums.

"You're testing me, then? You don't really believe that I've changed."

"I do, but Edward if we just jump right into sex this soon in our relationship then it's just the same kind of pattern you've been following."

"I didn't realize you were a psych major," he scoffed. "Are you trying to get in my head and figure me out?"

"I'm not a psych major, and I think I have you figured out," I said as I rolled over the other side of the bed. I walk to the closet and threw the door open; I pulled my bag out and felt a pair of strong hands hold onto my arms, stopping me from going any further.

"What are you doing?" He whispered in my ear as he pulled me close to his chest.

"I'm leaving, if all you really want me for is sex then I'm just going to call a cab to take me back to school."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said.

"Don't call me ridiculous," I spat back.

He sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. This is the only way to do this. If I'm going to change my ways, I need a big push to help me do it. And I want our relationship to be based on more than just a physical attraction – we have to trust each other completely."

I let go of my bag and turned to him, "And you're not just saying this to get me to stay, right?"

"I mean it, Bella," he said. "I love you, and I will wait forever for you."

I practically threw myself into his arms and buried my face in his chest, "Thank you, Edward. And…I love you, too."

It felt good to say that for the first time – especially when I meant it with all of my heart.

"I'm tired," I said, noticing it was almost midnight. "Let's just get some sleep."

**EPOV**

Bella fell asleep almost immediately, but I lay awake and thought about everything she said. There was a stupid, selfish side of me that wanted to interpret her reasoning as mistrust – that she would never be able to accept my shady past or that she was just a prude.

I silenced that side long enough to realize that she really loved me, and that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. I rolled onto my side and curved myself around her body as I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of the shower running; I opened an eye to find that my arms were no longer wrapped around Bella, but a pillow. Rising from the bed, I noticed that the bathroom door was open just a bit. I couldn't help myself, as the rational side of my brain screamed at me to just stop and go back to bed, the evil, selfish side of my brain won out and I pushed the door open just wide enough to see where Bella stood behind the glass shower door.

She was washing her hair, so she had her eyes closed; I figured I had at least a good twenty seconds to drink it all in – the curve of her breasts, the shape of her legs. She gave me an even better view when she turned around. Her backside was just a little bit big for her size, and I stood there imagining what it would feel like to grab it as I made love to her.

I turned then and took stock of my behavior. After everything she said to me last night, all those things about trust, here I was spying on her naked. I looked down and noticed I had a tent sticking out of the front of my boxers – and I was sure it wasn't just morning wood.

I wanted to cry then; why couldn't I just suppress these stupid impulses? I really do love Bella, and I want her to trust me more than anything in the world. In order to do that, I need to learn how to control myself.

One month, that's what we agreed on; if I can behave myself, if I can prove myself, then I get to purge all of these physical needs.

I can wait that long…right?

**BPOV  
**

Rosalie helped me get ready for the dinner. She made me sit for almost an hour as she curled all of my hair into perfect, little ringlets. But, it was all worth it – I was afraid I was going to look like Shirley Temple, but it was actually very sophisticated. She pinned some of the curls back and let a few, well-placed strands fall into my face.

Once my make up was done, I slipped into my dress and looked into the mirror. I can't remember the last time I honestly thought I looked pretty. No, not pretty – beautiful. I spun around and let the dress twirl around me as Rosalie laughed.

"Like what you see, huh? Well, not as much as Edward's going to," she said as she began curling her own hair; though, she was going for more of a wavy look than what she gave me.

Edward opened the front door and called in to see if we were ready.

"Hold your horses," Rosalie said. "We'll meet you two downstairs."

"Hey, where's Samantha?" I asked. "Didn't she want to get ready with us?"

"I think she got wrangled into helping Victoria and Tanya and couldn't get out of it," Rosalie said. "By the way, you didn't really believe all of that stuff Tanya said, right?"

"Well, I decided just to ask Edward about it myself; and he said the same thing that you said, that he made a mistake with Tanya and he's changed. And it's true, he has changed."

"Good, I'm glad you guys talked about it," she said.

Once Rosalie was finished, we made our way to the hall where the dinner was being held. Emmett and Edward were standing at the front door waiting for us.

"Took you two long enough," Emmett whined. "Geez, all the other girls are down here."

"Yeah," Rosalie began, putting her hands on her hips, "But, you're not dating the other girls. And, I'm worth the wait, right?"

"Yes sweetie," Emmett replied obediently.

"Good boy," she said, patting him on the head.

"Not a word from you," Emmett warned Edward.

"Hey," Edward countered. "You think I'm not just as whipped as you are?"

"Whipped?" I asked. "I have you whipped, do I?"

Edward rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around me, "You know you do. I'm lost completely, Angel; I'm so in love with you, I don't think I could ever love anyone else as much."

I stepped back and gazed at him – he was serious. I never thought I'd ever hear those words spoken to me. I felt a tear run down my cheek before I had time to wipe it away.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said as he pulled me back toward him. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I should have saved that for later, but seeing you like this just brings all of these emotions up and I have to let them out somehow."

I buried my face in his shirt, not caring if it messed up my make up. "I love you too, Edward."

"Shhhh," he soothed as he rubbed my back. "I know."

Somehow, we managed to steer clear of Tanya and James all night. Edward and I left the next day before anyone else did, which caused some concern for Emmett.

"Don't you guys want to stay and see the Gorge with us?"

"I've seen it," Edward said.

"And, I don't really care if I see it," I added. "We just want to get back home."

"But…" Emmett began before Rosalie cut him off.

"You two drive safe, now," she said as she waved goodbye and pulled Emmett around to join the others who were going to see the Columbia River Gorge.

Meanwhile, Edward and I set out for Pullman. The five hour ride seemed shorter than before – either because we were both so happy to be going home, or because we were sitting next to the person we loved. Once we were back, Edward took me to the Pi house, where we sat on the couch and watched a movie until we both fell asleep.

I woke up at 8 a.m. Monday morning to find myself in Edward's bed. I was almost late for my first class, but it was worth it to wake up with Edward's arms around me.

In his arms, everything seemed right with the world. And it also made me wonder, did I really want to go through with this waiting a month plan?

Yes, I do! I can't back down on this now. It's not just for Edward, it's for me. I want to make sure that I'm not just in this for the physical aspects of the relationship. I've never had these kinds of feelings for anyone before, so I need to give them time to mature.

You can do this Swan…with just a little will power.

**Will they last the month? Stay tuned to find out…**


	6. Chapter 6

**One month isn't that long…is it?**

**BPOV**

God! I was the one who set this stupid ultimatum, but now I'm not so sure I can keep up with it. I mean, one whole month until I finally am fully intimate with Edward? I'm freakin' insane!

But, a big part of me is glad that I made this demand; I mean, would I really be able to respect myself if I just gave in because I have a super-hot boyfriend? I don't think I would. It certainly wouldn't be like me to act that way.

But, then again, the last time I made a promise to sleep with a boyfriend it ended very badly. When I first made that promise to Jacob to have sex with him after I graduated, I fully intended on keeping my word. But, after a while I fell out of love with him. Could I fall out of love with Edward if I wait too long? Or, even worse, could he fall out of love with me? That seemed more likely – not that I don't trust Edward to be faithful, but he could have any girl. Why would he wait for me?

It wasn't as though we tried to avoid temptation all that much; I stayed over at the Pi house most nights – in fact, Angela was starting to wonder whether I had officially moved out or not.

"You must really like this guy to spend this much time with him," she said one day as she was studying on her bed.

I was packing a few things, preparing to stay the weekend with Edward, and trying to catch up with her life. I've really turned out to be a horrible roommate; I liked Angela, but if I had the choice between hanging out with her or spending time with Edward, I pick Edward.

"I do really like him; I love him, in fact," I said as I folded a dress and put it into my bag. Today was Friday, September 13, by 19th birthday, and Edward said he was planning on taking me out to dinner to this nice Italian Restaurant. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love him."

Angela smiled and concentrated on her work again. One thing could be said about her, she doesn't seem to take my absences personally. She seemed to understand that I was in love, so she also understood why I didn't waste my time in the dorms too often.

I was choosing what pair of shoes I would wear tonight when I heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Angela began to get up.

"No, you keep studying, I'll get it," I said as I stood and walked to the door. Part of me secretly hoped I'd find Edward on the other side; maybe he would surprise me with a dozen roses for my birthday or something.

Instead, I saw a face I wasn't sure I'd ever see again.

"Jacob? What are you doing here?" I asked as I held the door ajar just enough to talk to him.

"Nice to see you too, Bells," he laughed as he took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a small box wrapped in pink paper. "Happy birthday."

I opened the door a little wider, "Thanks."

Once I removed the paper, I noticed that it was a jewelry box. I felt my heart jump into my throat – was he trying to make up with me? Now? After all these months?

"What is it?" I asked.

"Open it, silly," he said.

"I don't know if I want to."

He grabbed the box out of my hand and opened it to reveal a charm in the shape of butterfly. I breathed a sigh of relief and he smirked, "You thought it was going to be a ring, didn't you?"

"Maybe," I said sheepishly. "You have to admit, it's kind of weird and sudden – you showing up like this. Why are you here, anyway?"

"It's your birthday," he said. "I had to give you your present."

"But...why? You don't have to buy me presents anymore, Jacob, you're not my boyfriend. You didn't have to drive nine hours out here to give me this, what time did you leave, like 7 this morning?"

"Something like that, but it wasn't too far to travel for a friend – we're still friends, right?" He asked, his brown eyes wide with expectation. "And, friends can give each other gifts."

"I didn't think you wanted to be friends after the way we broke up."

He looked down at his shoes, "Well...I didn't, at first. But, I realized what an asshole I was being. I don't like my life without you in it – I miss you, Bella."

"That's all well and good, Jacob, but I can only hang out with you again on the basis of friendship. I have a boyfriend, and I'm very much in love with him."

Jacob's eyes turned from sad to dangerous in a matter of seconds, "Someone else? I come all the way out here and grovel for you to take me back and you have the gall to tell me that you're in love with someone else?"

He grabbed my arm and started to pull me out into the hall. Suddenly, another hand pulled me away from Jacob and back into my dorm room. The door mysteriously closed behind me.

**EPOV**

Today was Bella's birthday, and I really want to pull out all the stops for her tonight. I made reservations at Bella Dolci Cafe. I thought it was pretty fitting, since her name is in the title.

I bought some champagne and put it in a bucket of ice in my room, not that I want to get her drunk, but I thought she might like some strawberries and champagne after dinner. Then I dropped by a flower shop and got her two dozen long-stemmed roses – because, a dozen just wasn't enough.

She said she'd meet me outside her dorm around 5, but I thought I'd stop by around a little bit sooner.

Lucky I did, to, because as soon as I stepped into her floor from the stairwell, some tall kid was yelling at her about being in love with someone else. I couldn't help it, my animalistic instincts just took over. I pushed Bella back into her room and turned to get into this kid's face.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He asked me.

"I should be asking you that question, what the fuck do YOU think YOU'RE doing with my girlfriend?"

He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, "So, you're this new boyfriend Bella was talking about. Well, I don't know if Bella ever mentioned me, but I'm her old boyfriend; and I'm here to win her back."

It was my turn to chuckle now, "I think she's show you that she doesn't want to get back together with you. So, why don't you save a little bit of face and drive back to Forks before something bad happens to you."

"Is that a threat?" He said, standing at full length to tower over me. I had to admit, the kid was tall, but I refused to let him intimidate me – especially not when he wanted my Bella.

"No, that's a promise," I said; I continued in a low tone, just in case Bella was listening from the other side of the door. "If I catch you around Bella again, I'm going to rip you're throat out, do you hear me?"

"Big talk," he said, but I could tell he was thinking about it; he was wondering if he'd really stand a chance against me. I may be short, but that didn't mean I couldn't take him—and he knew this.

He gave me one last smirk and walked away. Once the door to the stairwell closed behind him, I turned and knocked on Bella's door, "It's OK, he's gone now."

Bella pulled the door open and threw herself into my arms, "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done it you hadn't shown up just now."

"What you would've done? What about me? If he so much as hurt a hair on your head, I would have had to rip his still-beating heart from his chest and shove it down his throat."

She looked up at me in shock, but then started laughing uncontrollably, "Edward! You're so funny!"

She tucked her head back under my chin and continued laughing. Did she really think I was kidding about the whole ripping out his heart thing? Because I wasn't.

"So," said as I picked up the roses from the place I threw them to the floor. "These are for the most beautiful girl in the world – happy birthday."

"Oh, thank you Edward, they're beautiful," she said as she stretched up onto her toes to kiss me. I grabbed her around her waist and lifted her so she wouldn't have to reach.

I set her down and she turned back into her room to grab her bag, "Bye Angela."

I peeked into the room to see Bella's equally tiny and cute (well, almost equally) roommate, Angela, sitting on her bed with a gigantic text book in her lap.

"Bye Angela, sorry I'm stealing her away again," I said as I flashed her a smile that made her giggle slightly.

"It's OK," she said. "I have a lot of studying to do, so she'd just be a distraction anyway."

I laughed and closed the door behind Bella. I slid my arm over her shoulders and grabbed her bag with my other hand, she protested.

"I can carry my own bag."

"Bella, it's your birthday, you have to let your boyfriend be a gentleman and not let you lift a finger, alright?" I said.

"If it's my birthday, then I'm the one who gets to decide how I'm treated," she countered. "And I want to be treated like a modern, sophisticated woman."

"So, I suppose you don't want me to hold the door open for you, either?" I asked with a smirk.

"No I do not," she said as she pushed the door to the stairwell open and skipped down the stairs.

I shook my head and followed her down to my car. She was waiting for me to unlock the door with my keyless entry, but something inside me wouldn't let me accept this whole non-chivalrous bit. I walked up beside her and unlocked the door manually and pulled it open for her. She stood there with her hands on her hips, "You just can't let up, can you?"

"Nope," I said. "I'm going to wait on you hand and foot all night whether you like it or not."

She dropped her hands in defeat and slid into her seat – I closed the door, not able to hide the satisfied smile on my face. I drove us back to the Pi house, where Bella ran up to my room to change. I went to the kitchen to grab something to drink when I ran into James.

I had been doing my best to avoid him for the past couple of days – not sure of whether or not I'd really want to clock him for bringing Tanya to the retreat. He passed me on his way upstairs, his lips peeled back into an evil smile, "So, going some place special tonight, Romeo?"

I turned to glare at him, hoping he'd get the picture without me having to say a word. He did, he sauntered up the stairs and crawled back into his rat hole. Thankfully, he was completely out of sight before my angel emerged from my room in a slinky brown dress that draped over one shoulder. Another one of Rosalie's ideas, I assumed – and God bless her for it.

**BPOV**

Once I shut myself inside Edward's room, I went to work making myself look as hot as possible. I took out my make up bag and went into Edward's bathroom where I found a bucket of ice with a champagne bottle chilling in it in the shower. What did he have planned for me tonight? I decided to ignore the bucket and get to work, drawing careful, black lines around my eyes with liquid liner. I added a little wing at the outer corners of both of my eyes, just like Rosalie had shown me. I decided to forgo eye shadow, because I figured the liner was enough, and applied some mascara.

I dug back in the bag and pulled out this shimmery powder that Rose had given me; I dusted it across my cheeks and nose, and then applied a little across my shoulders and collarbone. After that, I took out the 8-hour lip gloss Samantha had given me. It was just the right shade of red – not too bright and not too orangey.

Once my make up was done, I pulled the dress I had packed away out of my bag and threw it on quickly. I didn't think I'd need a bra with this, it supported me pretty well – which was unusual for most dresses, as I'm particularly well-endowed.

I removed the clip that was loosely holding my hair back, and my locks fell down my back in nice waves. I grabbed my shoes and went to double check myself in the mirror. Let's see how much of a gentleman he is after he sees me like this!

I pulled on the black pumps I found from the Jessica Simpson shoe collection. She might not know the difference between fish and chicken, but the girl knows hot shoes. I opened Edward's door and walked to the top of the stairs to find him in the foyer waiting for me.

I took a deep breath and walked down towards him.

He took me to a pretty little Italian place called Bella Dolci Café. I laughed at the title.

"I knew you'd love it," he said as he leaned over to kiss me.

"You found a restaurant with my name in the title, I'm impressed."

"Like I said, I live to impress you."

The food was delicious – I had the mushroom ravioli, but ended up stealing a good portion of his Stromboli. We shared a tiramisu before he paid the tab and we headed back to the Pi house. The whole time he held my hand in the car I wondered what it would be like when we finally made love. Would it be like I had always dreamed? Something wonderful and epic, like out of a romance novel? Would he lay me down on a bed of satin sheets covered in rose petals? Would he be so sweet and loving and gentle that I would never want to leave the warm comfort of his strong arms?

I didn't realize how lost I was becoming in my own thoughts until I hear him call my name, "Bella? Angel? We're here."

I jerked my head around to find that we were parked in front of the Pi house. He jumped out and came around to my door; he opened it for me and I allowed him to take my hand and help me out of the car – mostly because the Jessica Simpson heels were now starting to hurt my feet. Damn that stupid, C-list, pop star and her stupid shoes!!

Edward noticed my unease as I walked up towards the front door, so he scooped me into his arms and carried me over the threshold and up the stairs. Luckily, I had left his bedroom door open, so he only had to push it shut behind him with a kick of his right foot.

I placed me on his bed and stepped into the bathroom, emerging with the bottle of champagne and a pair of glasses. He set the bottle and glasses on his bedside table and walked over to another table covered in a cloth. But, it wasn't a table, it was a mini-fridge; he pulled out a bowl of strawberries and set them on the bed next to me.

I picked out a berry and popped it into my mouth as he carefully removed the top to the champagne and pour some into the two glasses.

"To Bella, on her 19th birthday," he toasted as he tapped his glass to mine.

I tipped my glass to my lips and let the bubbly liquid slide down my throat. It tasted really good, actually; especially with the taste of strawberry still fresh in my mouth.

Edward set his drink aside and placed his hands on my knees. He reached up and placed a soft kiss on my lips; I set my drink aside before I dropped it on the floor in my haste to tangle my hands in his hair.

We deepened our kiss and he started to move us so he was hovering over me as I lie on my back. He placed his hands on either side of my head on the bed and tilted his head to get even better access to my lips.

I sighed at the feeling of his tongue sliding past my lips into my mouth. He didn't let it linger there, though; he pulled back slightly, taking my bottom lip with him. He bit and sucked on it before he lifted himself off of me completely. He rolled onto his side and sighed, "Bella, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Edward," I said.

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose, "I love you so much, that I'm going to behave myself completely tonight and not push you any further."

My heart dropped – I didn't want him to stop kissing me, and I certainly didn't want him to stop touching me. I pulled him closer to me and attacked his lips roughly. He surprised me by pulling away and holding me at arms' length.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"Showing you how much I want you."

**EPOV**

She would really be the death of me.

First she says we have to wait, and then she entices me with her beautiful, luscious body. I don't know how much of this I am going to be able to stand this. I held her away from me, her eyes were hooded with desire, her lips were parted slightly and begging me to kiss them.

Somehow, I ignored the throbbing pain that was coursing through my nether region and pushed Bella onto her back. I wasn't going to take any pleasure out of this night – but that didn't mean I couldn't give her some pleasure.

She was about to whine when I placed a finger on her lips and let it trail down her body. I placed myself between her legs and pushed the bottom hem of her dress up her legs until her delicate, white panties were revealed to me. I hooked my fingers under the waistband and began to pull the fabric down until I had them off her completely.

I threw the panties aside and returned to find her looking at me with wide, innocent eyes. This was the furthest she had ever been, and she was a bit frightened.

"It's OK, Bella. I only want to make you feel good, nothing more. If you feel uncomfortable, tell me to stop."

I held my breath and waited as her eyes softened and she was no longer afraid. I trailed my right hand from her knee to her center. I brushed my thumb over her already swollen clit and she gasped and arched her back towards me. I chuckled softly and brushed past the nub in the other direction – I got the same reaction.

I let my index finger slid gently down the folds of her entrance. She was already wet and I couldn't help myself – I dipped my finger inside of her and began to stroke it in and out of her core. She started to make whimpering sounds as I picked up speed and tried adding another finger in – she was almost too tight to allow that much space.

I leaned forward and let her scream into my shoulder as she came, so she wouldn't send any of the other housemates – particularly Emmett – running up to my room to tell us to be quiet.

She lay back on my pillows with her eyes closed, the pleasure of her climax still washing over her.

**BPOV**

That was the singularly most amazing moment of my life. Out of all of the dreams I had had of me and Edward making love, nothing compared to the orgasm he brought me to, just with his hand, no less!

I had two more weeks until the probationary month was officially up – maybe I need to rethink this plan of mine.

**Will she last? Find out next time, dear readers…**

**P.S. Suggested listening for this last scene is Corinne Bailey Rae's "Like a star." I found it very inspirational!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Bella birthday weekend continues…**

**BPOV**

When I rolled over Saturday morning, I figured I would roll right into Edward's chest – the place I most wanted to be. But, he wasn't in bed anymore. In fact, he wasn't even in the room.

I sat up and threw the covers off of my legs, but before I could stand to go find him, Edward came through the door holding a tray full of food clad only in his pajama pants.

"Get back in bed," he chided.  
"I don't want to be in bed if you're not in there with me."

He set the tray down on his desk and picked me up bridal-style; he settled me back down in the middle of the bed and turned to pick the tray up.

"You know, these high-handed methods of getting me to do what you want me to do are going to back fire on you some day," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He placed the tray on my lap and sat down next to me. He picked up the fork and stabbed at a piece of cantaloupe, and then he placed it near my lips, but I playfully refused to eat it. He was persistent, though.

"Eat it," he pleaded. "I went through all this trouble to make you breakfast, so eat."

I ate the piece of fruit and picked up a piece of toast. Edward got up and went back to his mini-fridge where he took out a carton of orange juice and pour some into the glasses we used for champagne last night.

"Did you wash those?" I asked as I munched on a piece of bacon.

"Just think of it like a mimosa," he said with a sly smile.

I rolled my eyes, "Boys."

He set our glasses of juice on the tray and I picked up a strawberry and fed it to him. We finished of my breakfast together and he set the tray back on his desk before returning to lie down beside me.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked. "Anything you want to do, just name it."

"Hmmm…how about lie in bed with my boyfriend all day?" I said as I wrapped my arms and legs around his body.

"Your wish is my command," he said as he rolled me over on top of him.

As I kissed him, I tasted the sugary sweetness of the orange juice on his tongue. After a while, I felt something move near where my pelvis met with his. I pulled back and looked into his eyes and his face flushed red.

"Sorry," he said as he rolled me off of him. "I guess I should go take care of this."

He was about to get up and walk into his bathroom, but I grabbed his arm and flung him back on the bed with a strength I didn't know I possessed. I straddled him again and pressed myself against his groin.

"Bella, what are you doing? Not now, Bella, not like this," he protested, but I silenced him with a kiss.

"This isn't what you think," I explained and I pulled away and began to trail my lips down his body. "This is just some reciprocity."

I pulled at the tie on the front of his pants and he grabbed my wrists, "No, I don't need any reciprocity. This weekend is all about you."

"OK, then scratch my last statement," I said as I pulled my wrists out of his grasp and stared at him defiantly. "This is what I want to do. I want to do for you what you did for me last night, and I'm not listening to any of your damn bitching about the subject, is that clear?"

He opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but closed it and glared back at me. We sat there for what seemed like an eternity, each trying to wear the other one down. He finally sighed, "Fine."

He might be all sulky about this now, I thought as I continued to untie his pants, but he's going to be screaming my name in a few minutes.

I pulled the pants over his hips to find he wasn't wearing anything underneath. His erection stood before me and I suddenly got nervous – in fact, I almost chickened out right then and there. But, as I reached out to trail my fingers down the shaft lightly, he sucked in a breath and tilted his head back slightly. I grinned wickedly and decided to see if I could get an even better reaction out of him.

I licked my lips and tried to see how far I could take him into my mouth – it wasn't very far. I pulled back slowly, clamping my lips around the shaft and sucking lightly as I went. I began to repeat the process over and over again. I could only reach about half way down his length, so I supplemented my mouth action by grasping him with my right hand and stroking it in synchronicity with my head.

I continued to do this for about a minute before I felt myself being rolled over onto my back. Edward stroked himself one time and a stream of white stuff came shooting out of the tip of his penis, he arched off of the bed and yelled, "Ah fuck, Bella!"

He collapsed back onto the pillows and lay there for a moment, spent and almost out of breath. Then he turned to me and kissed me deeply, "That was amazing, angel; thank you."

I smiled against his lips and kissed him back until a thought hit me, "Edward, why did you push me off of you?"

He bit his bottom lip, "Because…I didn't want to cum in your mouth."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I've just always felt that's, like, disrespectful to do to a woman. It always seems like you're treating her like a whore if you make her swallow your cum. And, I definitely do not want you to ever feel like a whore."

I kissed him again, "I know you'd never treat me like a whore."

He smiled and deepened our kiss until I pulled away again.

"What?" He asked.

"Um, are you going to clean that up?" I said, pointing to where his climax had landed on the bed.

He laughed and got up to grab a wash cloth from the bathroom.

**EPOV**

I don't know why I didn't want to give into Bella's demands. It was her birthday and she should be able to do what she wants; but it seemed selfish of me to get any sort of pleasure out of her this weekend.

But, then again, it did prove to me how much she loved me – not that she needed to prove anything.

After she did all of those amazing things to me, she got up and took a shower – I resisted the urge to join her and took the tray back downstairs instead. I grabbed a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge and loitered a bit to give Bella time to finish. Once I returned to my room, she was standing near my bed wrapped in a towel. She looked too delectable for words.

"Oh!" She said as she turned around, "I wondered where you had gone."

"I just wanted to give you time to finish showering," I said as I put the bottles on my desk.

"I wish I would have remembered to bring my own shower gel," she said as she pulled some clothes out of her bag. "I never do and I have to end up using yours, so I smell like you for the rest of the day – not that that's a bad thing."

"Hmmm, you like the way I smell?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. She was right, she did smell like me.

"I love the way you smell," she sighed as she leaned back into me. "But, I assume that you like the way I smell, too. So I should try and remember to bring my shower gel so I can still smell like myself when I shower here."

I gently sucked a small patch of her skin into my mouth and nibbled on it; she sighed again and tilted her head to give me better access. Suddenly, she let go of her towel and turned around.

"Edward…make love to me…" she breathed as she stood there in all her glory – shapely legs, round, firm ass and matching breasts. I was going to have another erection situation on my hands.

"Bella…you…you said a month," I said, forgetting how to breathe for a moment. "We still have two weeks…"

She cut me off my wrapping her arms around my neck and attacking my lips like a woman possessed.

"I know what I said," she cried between kisses. "But, I can't help myself…I want you so badly, and it feels right to me. Doesn't it feel right to you?"

I had to admit to myself that it didn't feel right – not like this, anyway. Not here, in the middle of the day with any manner of my fraternity brothers walking around. She deserves better than that.

I took her by the wrists and forced her to look me in the eye. "Bella, it means so much to me that you trust me now, and I'm not going to ruin that trust. Now that I know that you're ready, we can do something really special."

Those wide, brown eyes looked as though they were going to let a few tears fall at first, but then she nodded and sighed, "You're right. I guess I'm just a little excited right now. Maybe we should get out of the house for a little bit…away from the temptation."

"Good idea," I said as I kissed her softly.

She turned back into the bathroom to change and came out a moment later so I could shower myself. Once the warm water began to cascade down my body, I jerked off like I never have before.

**BPOV**

We decided to go see a movie, and ended up seeing the new George Clooney/Brad Pitt movie **(A/N that would be "Burn after Reading," which opens in Sept. of 2008)**, much to Edward's chagrin.

"I don't have to sit here and listen to you gush over Pitt and Clooney for two hours, do I?"

"No, they're not really my type," I said. "I prefer guys with red hair."

He grinned at me and fed me a piece of Red Vine as the previews started. The movie was awesome – at least I think it was. Every time Edward shifted in his seat or made the slightest noise, I was beyond distracted. I didn't really want to be sitting here in a movie theater, separated by this stupid armrest; I wanted to be back in Edward's bed…naked…with his arms wrapped around me. I have officially called off this ultimatum – I'm a woman with needs, Goddammit!

Once the movie was over, Edward and I walked around and found a Starbucks, where he bought me a green tea blended crème. We sat in a secluded booth and talked. He was driving me crazy – he smelled so good and he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of me. He took every opportunity to brush his hand across my knee, or drape his arm around my shoulder. And he kissed me just about every time I looked in his direction.

I was anxiously awaiting what the night would bring.

We got back to the Pi house around 7 p.m. and the Pi boys were all sitting in the living room playing video games.

"Hey Cullen, Bells, why don't you guys come play?" Asked Ben, one of the nicer brothers.

"I'm good to just watch," I said as Edward sat on the couch and pulled me into his lap.

"Oh come on, take that crap upstairs, please?" Whined Mike Newton.

"What's wrong, Newton?" Emmett asked, walking into the room with Rosalie. "Not getting any lately? What are the wonder-sluts, Jessica and Lauren, not giving up the nookie anymore?"

"Shut up, Swan," Mike said weakly – I'm sure he knew my brother could pummel him into oblivion.

"So, what were you two up to today?" Rosalie asked.

Oh God, I thought to myself, could she have possibly heard us this morning? I had to play it cool in front of my brother, regardless. "We went to see a movie."

"Hey, I just realized I haven't seen my baby sister to say happy birthday," Emmett said as he lifted me off of Edward's lap and twirled me around, blocking the TV from the gamers sitting on the couch.

"Hey, move it, Swans!" Jasper said as he playfully shoved us out of the way.

"How was your birthday? What did you guys do?" Emmett asked.

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

"We went to dinner last night," Edward recovered for me. "We went to that Italian place, Bella Dolci Café."

"Nice," Emmett said as he put me back on my feet.

I was about to turn back to Edward when Emmett grabbed my upper arm to stop me. He was looking at my neck inquisitively.

"What the hell is that?" He pointed to a bruise on the left side of my neck, a love bite from Edward.

I tried to cover it quickly, but it was too late, Emmett was already off on a tangent.

"Great, I let you date my sister and now you're leaving tramp stamps all over her, Cullen? I thought you'd have more respect for her than that!"

"He does, Emmett, he didn't mean to do it," I said, placing myself in between my brother and my boyfriend.

"Em, calm down, let's go get something to drink, OK?" Rosalie said, pulling Emmett into the kitchen with her.

"That was close, Cullen," Jasper teased. "I thought Swan was going to smash that pretty little face."

Edward shot Jasper a dirty look and carried me up to his room. He set me back on my feet and I sat on the edge of his bed. "So, lesson learned – make sure I have no visible hickeys around my brother."

He chuckled, "To say the least."

I kicked my shoes off and scooted back until I was lying against his pillows. I shut my eyes tilted my head back as I snuggled deeper into the warm softness of his bed. He didn't make a sound, so I opened one eye and looked up to find him sitting in the chair to his desk, gazing at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, just admiring my beautiful girlfriend."

"You don't have to admire from afar, you know," I said. "In fact, I'd prefer if you'd get a little closer – a lot closer, actually."

He rose slowly for the chair and walked to me, removing his own shoes in the process. He stood just by the bed and smiled down on me while he grasped the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head. That would never, ever get old – gazing at the sculpted perfection that is his chest.

He threw his shirt to the floor and stretched himself next to me. I turned and wrapped my right leg over his hip while he pulled me into his arms. Our lips lingered just millimeters away from each other.

"I love you," he whispered and placed his warm, soft lips on mine.

My hands somehow found their way to the button of his jeans as we lay there kissing. I popped the button open and tugged down the zipper before his hands stopped mine.

"Wait," he said as he rolled us so he was on top of me; I thought he was going to make an excuse again, but he gave me an evil grin. "I just want to get you out of this first."

I sat up so he could easily slip my shirt over my head. He reached around and unclasped my bra; it felt as if my breasts heaved a sigh of relief as they were freed from their confinement. They didn't have too much time to breathe, however, as Edward lowered his head and took my right breast into his mouth. The noise I emitted after I felt his tongue against my nipple sounded something like the sound a Guinea Pig makes. He chuckled as he licked and sucked at my breast – his other hand found my left nipple and began to pinch and tease it.

My hands were clenched into fists at my side; when he kissed his way over to give his attention to my other breast, I finally remembered to get my jeans off. I opened my fly and pushed them down my legs and kicked them carelessly onto the floor. I went for my panties next, but Edward decided he wanted to remove them for me.

Once he was back on his feet, he dropped his own pants and underwear. He leaned over to grab something out of his drawer; he pulled out a condom and closed the drawer. I didn't want to voice the concern that was nagging at me right now – why did he just happen to have a box of condoms in his drawer? I decided to just be glad he did have them, or else this particular event wouldn't be possible tonight.

He sat on the edge of the bed and rolled the condom down his length. I scooted to the middle of the bed and pulled the sheets up so we could both slide under them. He settled himself between my legs and reached one hand down towards my core. He slid a finger into me and stroked it in and out a few times before he pulled himself away slightly. He looked down at me and I nodded to let him know I was ready, and I knew it was going to hurt.

The length of him entered me slowly; once he had pushed past my hymen, I felt a shock run throughout my body briefly. It wasn't as awful as I thought it was going to be – but it was far from pleasant. The more he started to move within me, the faster the pain went away, though. His hips ground into mine over and over again and I managed to match his rhythm after a while.

I hadn't realized that I had my eyes closed since he first entered me – I opened them to find Edward gazing down on me with a lustful look in his eyes. He leaned down and captured my lips roughly as his hands grasped my hips. He held my pelvis closer to him as he increased his pace. I moaned into his lips as I felt my climax begin to build.

I was beginning to feel my walls begin to contract around him; Edward buried his face in my neck to muffle the sounds of his grunting as we both came together.

We lay there in the afterglow of the most perfect moment I had ever had in my life, just enjoying the comfort of each other's arms. This wasn't what I was expecting out of my first time, it was better. It was better because it was real, not some fantasy with rose petals and satin sheets – it was just me and Edward, making love.

We didn't make it a month without sex, and that was alright because we went on our feelings instead of an insane agreement.

I fell asleep with a huge smile on my face.

**OK, out of steam here, sorry :-) **

**And, Alice will be in the next chapter, I promise! She is Edward's sister, and she is in this story, fear not!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Glad you all enjoyed the lemony goodness, as unexpected as it may have been**

**BPOV**

Edward was there next to me when I woke up this time.

I was lying on my stomach with my head resting on his shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around me like he never wanted to let me go. I smiled and reached up to place a kiss on his neck.

I didn't mean to wake him, but he groaned a bit and opened one, topaz eye at me.

"Good morning, angel; how did you sleep?"

"Better than I've ever slept in my whole life," I said. "How about you."

"The same – do you want to go to breakfast? I know a place where they make these great waffles."

"Sounds good," I said as I began to rise. He held me close to him, impeding my progress. "If you want to get breakfast, we have to leave the bed eventually."

His brow furrowed, "You're right...and that's a problem for me. You see I never want to let you leave this bed ever again. Hmmm, maybe I can get one of the guys to go get us some food and bring it back here."

"OK, so we'll just stay in this bed for the rest of our lives and have your fraternity brothers bring us food?"

"That's correct."

"OK...one question: how will we go to the bathroom?"

He thought for a moment, "OK, I'll extend our limitations to the bathroom, but that's it."

"So, we never get to leave this room ever again?"

"Never, we'll live and die right here."

I stared at him in disbelief and shook my head, "We are going to get so fat."

"No, we'll just have lots of sex," he explained. "That'll burn those calories right off."

"Good plan," I said as I placed my head back on his shoulder, "I'm all in."

"I knew you'd like it," he said kissing the top of my head.

There was a knock at the door to which Edward responded with a "Go away!"

The person behind the door just kept knocking, though.

"I said go away!!" Edward yelled a little louder.

Suddenly, the door flew open and a tiny girl with short black hair marched into the room.

"Edward Anthony Cullen! Is that anyway to talk to your sister?"

I pulled the covers over my head and tried to hide. His sister? What was she going to think of me – lying naked in her brother's bed the first time she meets me.

"Who's that?" I heard her ask Edward as I curled into a ball and prayed for death.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Edward leaned down to whisper, "Bella, I want you to meet my sister, Alice."

"Edward!" I hissed through the blanket. "I'm naked here."

"Um, Al...could you give us a second, please?"

I heard the door close and I popped my head out to make sure the coast was clear. I looked at Edward and he was biting his lip – trying not to laugh at me.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed," he said as he kissed the tip of my nose.

"Why didn't you tell me about your sister?" I asked.

"I didn't know she was coming," he said. "She just springs stuff on me, I can't help it."

"No, I mean you didn't even tell me you had a sister."

"You didn't ask."

OK, he had me there. I threw the blankets off of me and grabbed some clothes out of my bag. Once Edward and I were dressed, he opened the door to find Alice leaning against the opposite wall waiting for us.

"OK, now that we're no longer naked," she began turning to me. "I'm Alice, Edward's sister."

"Hi, I'm Bella," I said shyly, I still couldn't believe she had just caught us in bed together.

"My girlfriend," Edward finished for me. He gave me a wink and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Nice to meet you Bella, and I'm really sorry for barging in, but one of the brother's let me in downstairs and I wasn't counting on my brother having company."

"It's OK," I said.

"Actually, we were just contemplating breakfast," Edward said. "Any thoughts."

"A good alternative to lunch and dinner," Alice replied.

"Well, that settles it, then," Edward said, leading us both downstairs. "Waffles it is."

"Waffles?" Said a voice at the bottom of the stairs. It was Emmett. "I haven't had waffles in a while. Jas, you want some waffles, bro?"

"Sure," Jasper said as he slid off of the stool he was sitting on.

He sauntered over to us but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Alice standing there. He was about to introduce himself when some commotion started barreling down the stairs. More brothers wanted to join our little breakfast party. Behind the rowdy group of boys was James, who slithered into the room and set his sights on immediately Alice.

"Hello, Alice, how have you been?" He asked in a sickeningly smooth voice.

"Just fine, James," Alice replied as Edward pulled her closer to him and threw his other arm around her shoulder protectively.

"Feeling territorial, Cullen?" James accused with an evil grin.

"Hey, let's get going, I'm starved," Emmett whined as he started out the door.

"When are you not starved?" I teased as I led Edward and Alice out the door behind him.

Emmett jumped into his jeep and the three of us were starting to get into Edward's Volvo when I turned to see Jasper joining my brother.

"Hey Jas, come with us, there's room for one more," I said.

He was turned and started walking our way when a blur of blond hair squeaked by him. James got into the seat behind mine and buckled himself in next to Alice. Edward, needless to say, wasn't about to allow this.

"What in the world makes you think you are ever allowed in my car?" He asked James.

"Don't be rude, Cullen, it's not becoming of a lady like yourself," James shot back.

Edward was about to tear around the car and pull James out when Alice stopped him, "It's OK, Edward, let's just go. It's not like I'm marrying him or anything."

I could have sworn I heard James mutter "Yet" under his breath. This was going to be an interesting day.

**EPOV**

I've never wanted to strangle someone so much in my whole life. First James has the gull to try and drive a wedge between me and Bella, and now he's trying to put the moves on my sister? He must die, that's all there is to it.

I kept eyeing him through the rearview mirror as Bella made pleasant small talk with Alice.

"So, where are you going to school, Alice?" Bella asked.

"I a sophomore at U-dub – I go to a real school, unlike you maroon losers."

"Whatever," I said. "You dogs just wish you were as awesome as a Cougar."

"Oh, is that why we kick you asses all the time in the Apple Cup?"

"You didn't last year," Edward countered.

"Whatever, just wait, we've got the next one."

"Anyway," Bella interrupted. "What brings you out this way, Alice?"

"Just came to visit my big brother," she said. "But, enough about me...how long have you two been dating?"

"Officially?" Bella asked, turning to me, "What, about a month?"

"Officially? What were you doing before this...unofficially?" Alice asked.

"Oh, Bella used to be at the Pi house just about every night playing video games with Edward," James chimed in. "She's pretty much a mainstay, you'd think she was a Sig Pi instead of a Sig Kap."

"Bella, you're a sorority girl?" Alice asked in disbelief. "You don't seem like the type."

"I'm still not, really," Bella admitted sheepishly. "I just joined to try and become less anti-social. And it helps that Emmett's girlfriend, Rosalie, is a Kap. It makes me feel less alone and awkward."

"Emmett's the president of Pi house, right?" Alice asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Or Sage, as we say."

"So, what does that make you, Edward?" Alice asked.

"I'm the third counselor – known as the treasurer," I said. "So, third down the line."

"Isn't Jasper the second counselor?" I asked.

"Yup," I said. "Vice-president. Although, he doesn't take his job very seriously."

"He doesn't seem like he would," I laughed.

"I'm the pledge trainer," James piped up, trying to sound important.

"Cool," Alice said unenthusiastically. "Do you make them bend over so you can spank them with one of those big paddles?"

"Something like that," James said – he didn't sound like he was kidding, either.

I saw the restaurant come into view and breathed a sigh of relief, "We're here."

Alice, Bella and I jumped out of the car quickly and started walking towards the front door, but James was just as quick, easily catching up with Alice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper head in our direction and waved him over.

"Jas, I don't think you've met my sister yet," I said as I pulled Alice away from James and pushed her lightly in Jasper's direction.

He held out his hand and she shook it, "Hi, I'm Jasper Whitlock. It's nice to finally meet Edward's sister; he talks about you a lot."

"I hope he only tells you the good stories," Alice teased as she kept her small hand in his. Neither one of them seemed like they wanted to break the contact and that made me happy. I'd like for Alice to be with a guy like Jasper – especially when compared with James.

Jasper walked Alice through the front door and I led Bella inside; James stood on the curb, giving me the evil eye. I smirked at him and followed the party to our tables.

My sister and Jasper seemed to get along really well, even if they were complete opposites – Jasper is a totally mellow, laid-back guy and Alice is a hyperactive pixie. But, they worked somehow.

Bella rested her head on my shoulder and kept it there for most of breakfast, lifting it only to take a small bite of food or a sip of coffee. I, in turn, kept one arm securely around her waist – which made eating a bit difficult, but I didn't care. We sat in a booth across from Alice and Jasper; thankfully it was only big enough for four. Although, that fact didn't stop James from trying to join in, "Can I squeeze in with you guys?"

"Dude, there's only three over here," Ben called from the booth behind ours. "Why don't you sit with us instead of trying to fit five into that booth?"

James shot a withering look at Ben, who just shrugged innocently. He turned his dark gaze back on Alice, "I guess we can talk later, then."

"Looking forward to it," Alice muttered sarcastically.

As James walked away, Alice rolled her eyes at Jasper who had to muffle his laugh with his hand. He leaned forward to whisper something in Alice's ear that made her laugh out loud – I looked over to Bella who was gazing at them with quiet awe.

**BPOV**

Edward's sister is so great! I'm glad she was cool with the whole finding us in bed thing – at least she didn't think I was a slut. As soon as we walked down to the foyer of the Pi house and Jasper clapped eyes on her, I knew they would make the cutest couple.

That is, if we can keep James away from her. I mean, it's clear that she finds James just as repulsive as the rest of us do, but that may not be enough to keep her safe – he's a manipulator, we don't know what he's fully capable of.

The four of us finished our breakfast before everyone else and decided to go show Alice the sights of Pullman – sparse as they may be. We paid and were out the door before James even had a chance to notice we were gone.

"So, what do we want to do?" Edward asked.

"I don't care," Alice said. "Let's just find a place to sit and talk; a park or something."

"How about McGee?" Jasper asked.

"McGee Park it is," Edward said as he pulled off in the direction of the park.

We found a table to sit at while scores of children played all around us. Alice sat across from me and gave me a curious look.

"So, Bella, I feel like I know nothing about you. Where did you grow up?"

"Forks," I said.

"That's in the Olympic Peninsula, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, my dad's the sheriff there."

"What does your mom do?"

"Um, she lives in Seattle and works for a dentist office."

"Oh, when did your parents get divorced?"

"A couple years ago," I said. "My dad got primary custody of me so I could stay at my high school and graduate."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's OK, I'd rather they be happy and apart than miserable and together."

She smiled and turned to Jasper who was looking at his hands folded on the table as though he was deep in thought.

"What about you, Jasper? Where did you grow up?"

He smiled gently and turned his head towards her, "Air Force brat – I grew up all over the world really. I was born in Berlin, and I've lived everywhere from London to LA, but my dad ended up getting stationed at Fairchild in my senior year and it ended up being permanent enough for to graduate there, so I decided to attend the nearest college – and that turned out to be Washington State."

"It was fate then," Alice said with a sly smile.

"I guess so," he replied.

They looked into each other's eyes with quiet yet intense passion. The tension was pretty thick before Edward cleared his throat and brought them back to reality.

"So, you don't have to leave soon, do you Alice?" He asked.

"No, my class was cancelled for tomorrow, so I can stay the night."

"Sure, as long as you don't mind the couch," Edward laughed.

I nudged him in the ribs, "We'll give up the bed for her."

"Thanks, but I don't feel all that comfortable sleeping in the bed my brother shares with his girlfriend," she said with a smirk. "We're close, but not that close."

I felt my face heat up as everyone else at the table laughed. Jasper took Alice's hand and said, "You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"You don't have to do that," she said. "I'll be fine on the couch."

"Not on your life," he said. "There are all manner of horny frat boys walking around at all hours of the night. I cannot, as a gentleman, let a lady be exposed to that kind of debauchery."

Alice giggled and turned her face away, her cheeks turning bright pink. "OK, if you insist."

Jasper kissed her hand, "I do."

We stayed around the park until a little after noon. We played on the jungle gym for a bit and then Edward and Jasper pushed me and Alice on the swings until we got tired.

"How about lunch?" Jasper said. "My treat."

"Hey, I'm always up for food if you're treating," Edward laughed.

Jasper took us to a place called the Pita Pit where we found a few of the other fraternity brothers having lunch as well. Alice and I took a table in a corner of the restaurant as Jasper and Edward ordered. We chatted for a bit until I saw her face drop – she placed a hand on her forehead and leaned closer to me, "James is here."

I sat up straight as the blond demon peered around the booth and smiled at us.

"Now, who would leave two lovely ladies all by themselves?" He asked.

"God, you're like a mosquito!" I said. "Can't you just leave us alone?"

"Tsk, Bella! That was rude! I think Cullen's a bad influence on you," he said as he slid into the booth next to me. "Now, had you chosen me, you would learn how to respect a man."

He went to put his arm around me but a hand grabbed his wrist. "You need to learn how to respect a woman, James."

Edward pulled him out of the booth and knocked him into the nearest table, scattering food and soda all over the floor.

"You need to learn when a woman isn't interested in you – and you have to show her some respect and leave her the hell alone!" Edward yelled.

He was twisting James arm around his back and pushing him towards the floor. Suddenly, the managers of the restaurant were rushing out from the back.

"Hey! You two need to take this outside!" One man yelled.

Edward pulled James out the door and out of our sight. Once Jasper had the managers calmed down, he handed a twenty dollar bill to the people whose food had been thrown onto the floor, "Sorry, my friend had to take care of a very rude man."

The people took the money and left the restaurant in a huff. Jasper sat next to Alice and began to eat his food – Alice and I just sat there and stared in disbelief.

"Shouldn't you go help Edward?" I asked.

"He can take care of James by himself," he replied. "Besides, they have issues they need to work out."

**EPOV**

I dragged James out of the restaurant by his arm and pushed him up against the nearest light post.

"Let me go, Mother Fucker!" He yelled.

"Not until you calm down," I replied.

"Me calm down? You're the one who threw me into a table, asshole!"

A police car pulled up to the curb near us and an officer stepped out of the passenger side.

"Guys, break it up, don't make me arrest both of you," he said.

I let James go and he started to run off towards the parking lot, "This isn't over Cullen."

I shook my head and sighed.

**So, who should cause some havoc next? Jacob, Tanya or James?**


	9. Chapter 9

Haha

**Haha! Mention the name of Jacob and I get a ton of worried Team Edward people begging me not to bring him back! Come on, he's not going to give up that easy! He is nothing if not annoyingly persistent...but you know he's no match for Edward.**

Anywho, on with the story... EPOV

Bella had to get up for an early class this morning. She gently kissed me goodbye when I was not quite asleep and yet not quite awake.

I was slightly more conscious about an hour later, and I shuffled sleepily over to Jasper's room to see if Alice was up yet. I opened the door a crack and stuck my head in to see a large mass on the bed, covered by blankets. I walked over and nudged it to discover more than one person wrapped up there – Jasper and Alice were both asleep in Jasper's bed.

I was taken aback for a moment, but then I pinched Alice's nose shut until she panicked and sputtered awake.

"What the hell? Edward? What are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," I said. "You didn't happen to notice that you have company, did you?"

She glanced at Jasper's face and shot a look back at me, "Yeah, I wasn't about to kick him out of his own bed."

I crossed my arms as Jasper started to come to life, "What's going on?"

"Dude, you're in bed with my little sister," I said.

Jasper blinked up at me sleepily, "And?"

"I can't believe you two, you just met yesterday and you're already sharing a bed?"

"Hey," Alice said as she got out of the bed – I was thankful she was at least wearing clothes, even if they were Jasper's. "I am an adult; and besides, it's not like we had sex."

"Nah, just a little oral," Jasper joked; I didn't find it as funny as they did.

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger and closed my eyes. Alice sighed and sat back on the bed.

"Edward, chill please, this isn't a big deal."

"I'm your big brother; I'm not supposed to chill when I find you in bed with my friend."

"Really?" Jasper asked as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and gave me a smirk. "Kind of like Emmett, right?"

I stepped back and glared at him, "It's not the same, I'm Bella's boyfriend, not some guy she just met."

"You weren't always her boyfriend," Alice countered, "And don't tell me you didn't fool around a little bit before you were dating."

I opened my mouth to spit a comeback at her, but couldn't come up with one. They were both right, I was being unreasonable – but I couldn't help it. Alice is my sister and I feel the need to protect her, even if I do like Jasper and think he may be a good guy for her. It's just a natural reaction.

"Sorry guys," I said as Alice stood up to hug me. "I'm acting like a jerk."

"Not that that's anything new," Alice said. "I forgive you."

I hugged my sister tightly and gave Jasper a look that pleaded with him to forgive me – he nodded and smiled back.

"So," Alice said as she pulled away from me, "Can I tag along to your classes today, big brother? I want to know what it is that a big, bad pre-med studies all day."

"Sure, I only have two classes today," I said. "And, I'm warning you right now, they're very long and boring."

"I promise not to snore too loud," she said.

BPOV

I sat in my classes distracted by a barrage of thoughts – first of all being memories of all the things that Edward and I did this weekend. I was also hoping that Alice would still be here when I get out of classes. Although, it is a five hour drive, and I was sure Alice would want to get on the road before it got too late.

I got back to the Pi house right after my classes at about 2:30, and found Alice was still there. She was sitting on the couch with Jasper playing Wii. I walked in and watched the two of them playfully fight with each other while each tried to gain Mario Kart supremacy.

"Hey! That's not fair! Stop running me off the road!" Alice cried as she shoved Jasper's shoulder.

"Toughen up, Cullen!" Jasper countered. "You have to win this game yourself, not because I let you."

"Some gentleman you are," she said as she drove through a speed enhancing box and drove past Jasper.

Alice jumped off the couch as she won the game and I couldn't help but laugh – she did almost the same dance I did when I won.

"Hey Bella! I can see why you and Edward like this game so much! It's fun!" She said as she dropped the steering wheel control and ran over to me.

She hugged me and I returned it with the same passion. As much as I like Rosalie, she can be standoff-ish, Alice was the type of person to show how much she loves someone – and I liked that.

"OK, how about we just watch some TV now?" Jasper asked.

Alice and I sat on the couch with Jasper and began to watch some Food Network. Edward came downstairs and plopped down on the couch next to me.

"Hello Angel," he whispered in my ear. "How was your day?"

"Long and tedious – and yours?"

"The same," he replied. "I took Alice to my two classes and she nearly fell asleep both times."

"It's not my fault you chose to study something so boring," Alice said as she twirled Jasper's blond hair playfully in her fingers.

"What do you study, Alice?" I asked.

"I'm a psychology major with a minor in sociology."

"Cool," I said – I had to admit, sociology always fascinated me.

"Hey," Edward said as he pulled me closer to him. "You've never said what I study is cool."

"That's because it isn't," Alice said. "Trust me, Bella; if you ever spend a day following my brother around all of his classes, you better pack some Red Bull, because you'll never make it otherwise."

"Just because you're not intellectual enough to appreciate the subtle beauty of anatomy doesn't mean it's boring," Edward said.

"Oh, I liked the anatomy class," Alice said with an evil smirk. "Especially the talk about the reproductive parts, but everything else was about as interesting as watching the O'Reilly Factor. It's all just stuff dad taught us years ago, anyway."

"Yeah, but just because dad taught us this stuff doesn't mean we're ready to become doctors," Edward said. "I need to actually go through the real, accredited learning process."

Alice rolled her eyes then glanced at her watch. "Oh! Is it almost 4 already?"

"I guess it is," Edward agreed, looking at his own watch.

"You don't have to leave already?" I asked Alice.  
"I'm afraid I do, Bella dear," Alice said as she rested her head on my shoulder. "But, it's OK, that just means that the ball is in your court now. You, Edward and Jasper have to come out and visit me next. Perhaps for Thanksgiving?"

"Definitely," I said as I placed my head on hers. "I usually spend Thanksgiving with my dad in Forks, but I think I can get him to come to Seattle instead."

"Yes! I'll talk to Mom and Dad about inviting the Swans and Jasper's family over for Thanksgiving," Alice said giddily.

"Actually, just make that an invitation for me," Jasper said. "I don't think my dad will be making it. He's in Afghanistan right now."

"He's OK, right Jasper?" I asked.

"I talked to him the other day, and he's fine," Jasper assured me. "He's keeping himself well out of the line of fire."

"What is he doing?" Alice asked with a worried look.

"He's a major general," Jasper said. "So, really he trains more than he fights. He's all about getting the next generation of top guns ready for combat."

Alice shook her head and looked down at her hands, "It just seems so senseless…so unnecessary."

"I agree," Jasper said. "That's why I did my damndest to not follow in my father's footsteps."

Alice smiled at him and brushed her forehead against his. She stood and walked up the stairs to grab her stuff.

When she came back down, she sheepishly hugged Jasper and whispered something in his ear before she hugged me and Edward and left.

"I'm keeping in touch, Bella," Alice shouted through her open window. "I need to make sure you're treating my brother right."

"Understood," I shouted back as I put my arms around Edward's waist and watched as Alice drove away.

"Hey, are we going out tonight or what?" Called Mike Newton as we walked back into the house. "I need to get laid tonight."

"Always classy, Newton," Jasper said as he headed up to his room. "I don't feel like going anywhere tonight, so you all have fun."

Edward glanced at me, "Do you want to go? It's just going to be these idiots. You'll probably want to stay in."

"Nah, let's go out," I said. "We stay in all the time; I think people are starting to believe we've died or eloped or something."

"OK," Edward smiled as he leaned forward and kissed the tip of my nose, "Whatever my angel wants."

I decided to keep things casual for going out and just wear the t-shirt and jeans I already had on. Why try to get all dolled up, anyway? Girls who do that are generally on the hunt for a man – and I've already got one.

I grabbed my black hoodie just in case it started to get chilly and followed Edward out to his car. It seemed we were car pooling with Mike and Tyler, which was fine with me – I'd rather they had a ride home with us than trying to drive themselves while drunk.

We pulled up to a bar and grill called Pete's and all the boys filed out of the cars with appropriate levels of rowdiness. I just ducked my head and pretended I wasn't with them.

Edward laughed and squeezed my hand. "I know, it's annoying isn't it? We'll keep ourselves well away from all of them tonight."

I nodded as we entered the pub. After making the rounds and saying hi to everyone we knew, Edward and I found a nice little secluded spot to huddle into. We ordered some Buffalo wings and cokes and sat back to observe the debauchery around us.

Mike was hitting on Lauren because he knew how much it annoyed Jessica, but Lauren is clearly more into Tyler who is a bit of a clueless guy…when did my life become The O.C.? The old Bella wouldn't give a fig about these shallow people and their problems, but now I had to spend time at the Kap house hearing about how who was dating who, and which girl went down on some random frat boy the night before.

This was beyond ridiculous. My time spent with Edward is the only time I feel like I can be myself. I smiled at that – he's the first boy I've ever really loved and I was still in awe of the fact that he loves me back.

The server brought us our cokes and told us the wings would be out in a few minutes. I took a long drink of my soda and then looked up at Edward to see his face contorted in a hateful stare. He was looking just over my head, so I peered around to see Tanya leaning against the bar giving my boyfriend some seriously slutty bedroom eyes.

I think I might have to choke a bitch tonight.

EPOV

It took the waitress coming over for me to reluctantly pry my eyes away from Bella's face for a second, but that was enough to glance across the restaurant and see that Tanya was there. She was leaning against the bar with a bottle of beer in her hand, sucking on the end of it in an overtly suggestive manner.

Jesus, this woman knows nothing about subtlety.

She set the bottle aside and just licked her lips at me, but by this time, Bella had noticed what I was looking at and turned around. Dammit! I should have never looked up in the first place.

I dug through my pocket and pulled out my wallet. After pulling out a twenty dollar bill and throwing it on the table, I reached out and grabbed Bella's arm, "Come on, angel, we can go now. The others will just have to find another way home."

She turned to me and nodded. We were headed towards the door at a pretty fast pace when I saw a figure following us closely – James. Why do these two insist on double-teaming us? Can't they just go and live unhappily ever after somewhere else? They're clearly made for each other.

I pulled Bella through the door and practically dragged her to the car I was in such a hurry. Suddenly, there was an evil cackle behind us, "Damn Cullen! You sure know how to treat a woman!"

I stopped in my tracks so suddenly, Bella slammed right into my back. I turned to James but Bella pulled on my arm and tried to get me to keep moving toward the car.

"Edward, come on, let's just go," she said. "He's trying to pick a fight with you, don't give him what he wants."

"Actually," I replied, "I think I'll give him exactly what he wants."

"No!" She cried as I began to walk over to James.

I was about ten feet from James when he started in on his idiotic comments, "Oooo, big, bad Cullen's coming to get me…"

He couldn't finish his thought, however, as his jaw was now probably broken in more than one place. He staggered to the ground all while clenching the bottom half of his face in his hands. Once he fully realized what had happened to him, the tears began to flow freely.

"You fucking crazy bastard!" He screamed, though it was muffled by his pain and the fact that his lower mandible was now sitting at an unnatural angle. "You broke my fucking jaw!"

"Sue me," I said calmly as I turned to walk back to Bella.

She was standing where I'd left her with a sad look on her face. Her expression went from sorrow to horror, however, as I felt myself being forced to the ground by two pairs of hands.

"Alright, stay down! You're under arrest, kid! Don't think we didn't see you just clock that guy back there."

Two officers were restraining me – one put my wrists in handcuffs while the other began to read me my Miranda rights. Bella was running over in a blind panic.

"No, please! He didn't do anything! Stop!!" She cried as she began pacing nervously around the officers.

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to back away right now," one of the cops said. "Don't make me arrest you too."

She pulled out her cell phone as the cops were ducking my head into the cruiser, "Edward, I'm calling Emmett! Everything is going to be OK!"

"I'll be fine, angel," I said still strangely calm even though I'd just been arrested.

The officers drove me off as Bella began screaming frantically to Emmett over her phone.

BPOV

"EMMETT!! THEY ARRESTED EDWARD!! YOU HAVE TO COME RIGHT NOW!!" I screamed as soon as Emmett answered his phone.

"Whoa Bella! Calm down! Now, tell me slowly and rationally what happened."

I took a deep breath and tried it once more, "Edward punched James and the cops saw and they arrested him."

"Where are you right now?"

"Pete's."

"OK, just stay right there and I'll come get you."

Ten minutes later, Emmett's Jeep pulled into the parking lot and I jumped in the back. Jasper was seated in the front next to Emmett, and he turned to me, "They didn't happen to say where they were taking him?"

"To jail," I said. "Is there more than one around here?"

"Nope, just the one."

We pulled into the police station and walked in to talk to the woman working at booking.

"Edward Cullen," Emmett said simply.

The woman looked over the sheet in front of her. "You guys are fast – he came in not five minutes ago."

"How much is bail?" Emmett said, keeping his cool demeanor.

"I'm not sure there is bail for this," she said. "It was assault. The chief may want to keep him overnight."

"Can I talk to whoever makes that decision then?"

"I do, and he's staying here," said a tall man in a dark blue uniform.

"Please sir! You don't understand the situation," Jasper explained.

"Oh, I've seen enough bar fights in my time, son," the man said.

"Look Chief…Weatherly," Emmett said, leaning forward to read the man's nametag. "My dad's the chief of police in Forks, and I know you're just doing your job. But, my friend is not a troublemaker; he just made a big mistake. Please, can we just take him home now?"

Chief Weatherly looked as though he was considering it, but looked up grimly and said, "Sorry son, I just can't do it. I think this night will do him some good. But, bring 300 tomorrow morning and he's free to go."

Edward spends a night in jail!! Duh-duh-duuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh!

**Sorry this was later than usual, but I've been distracted. I've been reading this book – don't know if you've heard of it – it's called "Breaking Dawn." So, yeah, updates are going to be slow for the next couple of days.**

**You have been warned!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back, people I'm back, people!!**

**I finally finished "Breaking Dawn and I'm highly motivated. Although, it seems like everything in life post-BD is kind of a let-down, doesn't it?**

**Anyway, back to our heroes… **

**EPOV**

I'm not quite sure what happened – I just went numb.

From the time my fast made contact with James' face until I was being shoved into a jail cell, I couldn't feel anything.

However, once I sat down and felt the cold, hard metal of the bench underneath me in the cell, I put my head in my hands and was almost on the verge of tears. What had I done? Sure, James deserved that, but now I had to take responsibility for these actions. I just committed assault, and would probably have to stand trail for it. How was I going to explain this to my family?

And then I thought of Bella – my sweet, innocent Bella. I had been trying to defend her honor, but instead I ended up disgracing myself in front of her. She stood by, horrified, while I acted on my most violent impulses; what does she think of her nice, loving boyfriend now?

After a while, I became tired and curled myself up on the bench. Luckily, I was the only person being held tonight – the benefits of living in a small, quiet town.

The next thing I new, the sun was washing over my face as I opened one eye at the sound of footsteps walking towards the cell.

"You're free to go, Mr. Cullen," a man said. "Your friends bailed you out."

My friends...I really didn't want to face them. Would they be upset? Not too many people actually like James, but that doesn't mean they thought slugging him was a good idea. I stood up slowly and shuffled my feet to the front of the building.

There stood Emmett, Jasper...and Bella. I had really hoped Emmett would have made her stay home for this—it's not my finest moment.

I stopped about ten feet in front of them and just stood there, not knowing what to expect. Bella hesitated briefly before rushing to me and throwing her arms around me.

"You stupid, foolish asshole," she was crying and kissing me as she cursed me out. I couldn't help but smile at her actions; they were more than appropriate considering the situation. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I began to smooth down her hair while trying to calm her.

"Shhhh, I know, I'm an idiot," I whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry Bella; I don't know what came over me. Please don't cry, everything is going to be alright."

She sniffled a bit before burying her face in the side of my neck. I could feel the moisture from her tears on my skin.

"Sorry to break up the reunion," said one of the officers I assumed was the chief. "But, we do have to inform you that the victim is pressing charges."

I didn't turn towards the man talking, I just kept holding Bella and rocking her gently as I heard him began to scribble something onto a piece of paper on a nearby desk.

"This is your summons to appear in court, son. The trial has been set for December 15," he said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett reach for the ticket and snatch it out of the chief's hands. He nodded to the cop brusquely before putting a hand on my back and leading me and Bella outside. She refused to let go of me, even when we got into the car – she insisted on sitting on my lap. Jasper had to talk some sense into her.

"Bella sweetie, we'll get a ticket. And Edward's in enough trouble already."

She shot Jasper a harsh look but relented, sliding into the seat next to me, but not taking her right arm from around my neck.

"How do you feel?" She asked quietly.

"Better now that I'm out of there and next to you."

She smiled weakly, but it faltered as she became choked up again, "Was it awful?"

"There was no one in there with me, so at least I had that going for me — no need to fear getting molested by a gigantic biker or anything."

She didn't find that as funny as Jasper and Emmett did.

"You ARE pretty, Cullen," Emmett said as he looked at me in the rearview mirror. "You'd have been their favorite bitch."

Jasper chuckled softly as Bella lifted her head off of my shoulder, "Shut up, Emmett! This isn't funny!"

"Chill Bells...it is a little funny," he said. "I mean, out of all of us to be put in jail overnight, I'd have thought Cullen would be pretty far down the list...James on the other hand…"

"By the way, has anyone seen the little rat lately?" Jasper asked Emmett.

"No one has said anything, but I bet he's on his way back to Seattle to get one of daddy's high priced lawyers."

"Speaking of parents," I began, "I need to talk to mine."

"I called them, man," Emmett said. "Don't worry, I broke it to them gently. You're mom was a little worried about you, but they're fine."

"Just the same," I said pulling Bella tighter to me and resting my head back on top of hers. "They need to hear it from me. Plus, I need to get a lawyer and everything, I think my dad knows someone who can help."

Back at the Pi house, Bella sat on my bed while I paced the room with my cell phone to my ear, waiting for my mom to pick up on the other end.

"Hello," came her musical voice.

"Mom? It's Edward."

"Oh Edward!" She cried. "I've been so worried!! How are you? Where are you?"

"I'm back at the fraternity house, Emmett, Jasper and Bella bailed me out this morning," I said. "I'm fine…but I'll have to stand trial in December. Does Dad still have connections over at Schroeter, Goldmark and Bender?"

"Yes, he still has lunch with Mark Burke every other Friday."

"Good, I think I'm going to need his help."

**BPOV**

I spent all night pacing around Emmett's room as he made calls to everyone from Edward's parents to just about everyone of his fraternity brothers. He was trying to find a way to get Edward out of this mess while simultaneously trying to track down James.

But, it seemed our little friend has conveniently dropped off the face of the earth.

I didn't get any sleep at all, so I decided to just skip my classes the next day. It wasn't like I'd be able to pay attention anyway, knowing that my Edward was somewhere unsure of his fate.

This afternoon, I sat on Edward's bed and listened while he calmed his mother. She gave him the number a lawyer named Mark Burke who worked in Seattle. Apparently, he was an undergrad with Dr. Cullen at the University of Washington.

Once Edward had tracked him down and set up an appointment to meet with him to discuss his case, he finally sat down on the edge of his bed and put his head in his hands.

"Have I apologized to you yet today?" He asked.

"More than you should have, I think," I said as I crawled to him and wrapped my arms around him. "You have nothing to apologize about."

"Yes I do, I can't believe I've put you through all of this worry," he said his voice weary from the events of the past 24 hours. "You don't deserve this."

I placed my cheek against his back and sighed. We sat like that for a few minutes, and it began to worry me that Edward wouldn't turn to me – or touch me at all.

"Edward, don't do this to yourself," I said. "Please look at me?"

He sighed and reluctantly turned, his eyes red-rimmed and filled with sorrow.

"I love you," I said. "And I'm sticking by you through this. I don't care what you did, I just want us to be able to put this past us."

He shook his head softly and looked at me, "I don't deserve you, Bella. You're too wonderful and beautiful and understanding."

"You're all those things, too," I countered.

I couldn't help myself, I let a yawn slip out before I could stop it. Edward chuckled and caressed my face gently.

"I'm sorry I've kept you up, Angel," he said as he began to lean me back against his pillows. "You need to sleep."

"No," I protested. "I'm not sleeping unless you're here beside me."

"I have things to do still, Bella."

"They don't have to be done right this second," I said. "Wait until tomorrow."

I held my arms open to him and gave him a pleading look. He balked for a moment and looked as though he was going to refuse, but he eventually gave in and lay down in my arms. He pulled me close and kissed my forehead.

"Sleep Angel, don't think anymore about what happened last night."

I nodded and closed my eyes, letting sleep wash over me.

I woke a few hours later and looked at the clock. It was 1 in the morning. I felt the bed beside me to find I was alone and I shot up immediately.

"Edward? Where are you?" I asked in a harsh whisper.

His head poked out of the bathroom briefly, "Sorry Angel, I just had to take a shower. I was beginning to smell pretty bad."

"You never smell bad, lover," I said.

A sudden grin crept its way onto his perfect face and he leveled me with his intense stare. "You've never called me that before."

"What?"

"Lover…I like it."

He sauntered back into the room in only a pair of boxers. I gulped a little too loudly and his grin only got wider. He almost looked like he was stalking me.

"I am your lover, aren't I?" He asked seductively as he stretched himself out on the bed next to me. "Your first lover…your only lover."

My heart was beating so loudly I almost couldn't hear him anymore. It was strange, we have made love before, but I was still a bit nervous about this whole thing. Especially when he got this lustful look in his eyes – every part of me felt like it was on fire.

"Yes," I replied weakly. "You're my first and only lover…and, if I have my way, you'll remain my only lover."

"That is what I intend as well," he said huskily as he began to reach for the hem of my shirt.

I sat up and allowed him to lift it over my head. As he turned to throw it to the floor, I unbuttoned my jeans and slipped out of them. He unclasped my bra and I shrugged it off before lying back against the pillow.

He stood up and removed his boxers before fetching a condom, and I pushed my panties down my legs while I waited for him to be totally prepared for our love-making. I'm sure I hadn't showered in as many hours as he had, but he didn't seem to notice. He rolled on top of me and dipped a finger into my core, checking to see if I was ready for him.

He grinned wickedly, "Nice and wet already…that's my girl."

A tiny moan escaped my lips as he stroked his finger in and out a few times, but that wasn't the direction he wanted to take this in. He quickly replaced his finger with his erection and held himself close to me for a few moments – just looking into my eyes and enjoying the intimate connection we were sharing.

His hands gently messaged my hips before he began to grind his pelvis slowly into me. His lips found mine as he trailed his soft yet strong hands up the side of my body; they rested on either side of my face.

"I…love…you…so much," he whispered in between his kisses.

His lips trailed down to m neck and suckled gently at the sensitive skin there. I was about to warn him not to give me another hickey – but decided I didn't care if Emmett got upset, Edward's feelings were definitely more important at this point.

I wrapped my legs around his waist to take him deeper into me. His hands were suddenly under my backside, his fingers dug into my skin as he began to pound even harder. He sunk his teeth into my neck and made a deep grunting sound – I sucked in my breath and tried not to show him how much it hurt.

I knew that he needed this release, and I was willing to take anything he dished out. We rode our climaxes together as he let go of my neck and buried his face in the pillow to muffle his screams of passion – I did the same into his neck.

He lay there afterward, splayed across my body. His weight was beginning to become an issue, but I wasn't about to make him roll over until he was ready; especially when I felt his chest began to contract and spasm against me – he was crying.

"Edward," I whispered as I rubbed his back gently, "Everything is OK…shhhh, don't cry."

It was the reverse of this morning; it was my turn to be the support he needed.

**EPOV**

Once I felt the sobs wrack my body, I just couldn't stop them from coming. The full force of the past 24 hours – coupled with our passionate love-making – had finally taken its toll on me and I gave in to it. It wasn't until Bella began to rub my back that I realized I was still resting all of my weight on her. I rolled over, bringing her to lay on her side with me.

I practically crushed her into my chest, "Bella, what am I going to do? This could ruin so many things for me. I'm going to have a record and this may keep me out of medical school – who's going to want to admit a criminal into their school?"

I was silenced by Bella's lips against mine. She kept them there for a few moments before pulling away about half-an-inch and gazing intently into my eyes, "Stop talking like that. This is going to all blow over, you'll see. Your dad's friend is going to help you get out of this; you probably won't even get so much as a slap on the wrist."

I snorted a laugh and she looked at me sincerely, "I'm serious, Edward. You've never done anything wrong in the past, and you have a whole fraternity house full of brothers who will take your side over James' any day. And, you come from a good family – you will be fine; everything is going to be OK."

I pulled her back towards me and stroked her hair gently, "Thanks Angel, sometimes I get a little carried away."

"Tell me about it," she laughed as she pulled away and turned herself so I could see the right side of her neck – there was a large, purple bruise there from when I bit her.

"Oh my god," I said, suddenly very upset again. "I am a monster. I'm sorry, my sweet, beautiful angel, I didn't mean to do that to you."

She laughed again, "It's fine, Lover. I kind of liked it, actually…it was exciting to be made love to so passionately."

"But, that didn't mean that I had to hurt you, it looks so painful," I said as I brushed my fingers lightly across the spot.

She grabbed my hand and brought it to her soft lips for a long, sweet kiss.

"Don't worry about me," she said. "Just try to get some sleep."

"Yes Angel," I replied as I wrapped her tightly into my arms and drifted off to sleep. I suddenly felt ten times better, like I could do anything as long as I had my beautiful, understanding angel by my side.

**Sorry this was so short :-( **

**I think I'll get to the Thanksgiving trip in the next chapter. And, of course, James will have to cause a little more trouble; but fear not, he will get his comeuppance!!**

**By the way, if you've been reading my story "What if I am a superhero," it's been postponed until I finish this story. I just can't seem to concentrate on that one, but I WILL finish it, I promise!**


	11. Chapter 11

**October – **

**BPOV**

The campus was buzzing about Halloween in a couple of days. I haven't seen people get this excited about dressing up since I was in elementary school.

The Sig Kaps hold a Halloween party every year with the Sig Pi's and this year, it would be at the Pi house – personally, I'd much rather just sit up in Edward's room and watch a movie all night.

"So, what are you and Edward coming as to the party?" Samantha asked.

"Haven't thought about it," I replied. "I'll probably just stop by and grab a cheap costume after classes tomorrow."

"Bella! Halloween is in two days and you haven't even picked out a costume?"

"I haven't had time," I said. "I had midterms earlier this month."

"And she spends nearly every waking minute with Edward," Rosalie teased – I shot her a defiant look.

"So what if I do? He's better company than most."

"In any case, you need to find something," Samantha said. "I'll go with you, that way we can find something for Edward that matches."

"Oh no, I'm not going to be one of those girlfriends who makes her boyfriend dress up to match her for Halloween," I said. "If Edward wants to find a costume, he can do it on his own."

"You're absolutely no fun," Samantha pouted.

I gave her a wicked grin as I grabbed my purse to head out the door of the Kap house. To my surprise, Edward was just pulling up in the Volvo.

"Hey," he said as he jumped out of his car and ran up to me. "How's my girl today?"

"Better now that I've seen you," I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Mmmm, same here," he cooed into my ear.

He turned and opened his car door for me, "Come on, let's get some dinner."

I slid into the seat and he closed the door before running over to get in the driver's side. After he backed out of his spot and got back onto the road, I slipped my hand into his and he turned to smile sweetly at me.

"How was class?" he asked.

"Same old crap," I said. "I can't wait until this semester is over; I want to actually take some real classes instead of this blow-off, gen. ed. stuff."

"Yeah, too bad they don't warn you about this stuff in high school, huh?"

"I think less people would go to college if they did," I laughed. "At least we only have a little over a month left until the holidays. Oh, that reminds me – what are the plans for Thanksgiving?"

"I called my parents last week and they said that your family is more than welcome," he replied. "We just have to let them know how much of your family is coming."

"Me, Emmett, Rosalie and Charlie," I said.

"Emmett's bringing Rosalie?"

"Her parents will be in Europe from the middle of November until the middle of January."

"And she's not going with them?"

"They haven't taken her since she was a child," I said. "She went to this prep school in high school and they would just leave her there while they were on vacation. They're that type of parents."

"That sucks! Poor Rosalie, it's a miracle she turned out to be as nice as she did," he said.

"Yeah, so she's been spending the holidays with my family ever since she and Emmett started dating."

We pulled up to the restaurant and Edward once again ran to my door to open it. I love that I found the world's last chivalrous man. He helped me out of the car and we walked hand in hand into the restaurant.

**More shopping, Oi!!**

I was planning on just running over to the Palouse Mall today, it wasn't supposed to take more than about an hour. Little did I know that Samantha was waiting for me with Rosalie and some Starbucks.

"A peace offering," Samantha said as she handed me a cup. "Some white chocolate mocha if you let me and Rose take you costume shopping."

I eyed the cup suspiciously, "You didn't slip something in that that's going to make me let you dress me up like a Barbie doll, did you?"

"Damn, you caught me," she deadpanned – sometimes Samantha's really funny.

I took the coffee and got into Samantha's Eclipse – geez, wish my parents could get me a toy like this. I'm not even sure where you can get a baby pink car...they must have some friends at Earl Scheib's.

We got to the mall and I was pulled directly to one of those seasonal Halloween costume stores where they played stupid, Halloween themed music and all of the employees look on the brink of killing either themselves or all of the customers.

I went directly to the women's costume section and found something in my size, "Here, I'm getting this."

It was a long, white sheath dress with a blue sash and the packaging read "Greek Goddess." That had to be good enough for a Kap party, right?

"No way," Samantha protested. "First of all, that's hideous, secondly, you're not just buying the first thing you find, you do have to try stuff on."

I groaned as Samantha reached for a variety of costumes that ranged from witch to fairy to princess and even one for a "Gangster's Moll." Well, I thought, at least Edward will get a kick out of that one. I obediently tried on all of the costumes, one more revealing than the next. It reminded me of that line from 'Mean Girls,' about Halloween being the only night of the year when a girl can dress like a slut and no other girls can say anything about it.

A package suddenly came flying over the top of the dressing room as Rosalie shouted, "Look out!"

I caught it just in time, it was another costume for a Greek Goddess, but different than the one I picked out – definitely more revealing. I slipped it on and actually found it to be nice; it was red and one-shouldered. It was short, but not in an indecent way.

"Thanks Rose, I think I'm going with this one," I called out to my waiting tormentors.

"Ha ha," I heard rose laugh to Samantha.

"Fine, just get your cute little but out here so we can get some ice cream already," Samantha called.

**EPOV  
**

I can't believe how juvenile being in a fraternity can be sometimes. A Halloween party? What, are we 9-years-old here?

I shook my head as groups of new Sig Pi's were getting a little too excited over the prospects of dressing up in stereotypical toga costumes and trying to get laid by girls who are similarly, scantily dressed.

Maybe Bella and I could just skip this. Nope, no such luck, as it turned out.

"Cullen, you're the treasurer, you have to be there," Emmett said.

I sulked as I sat in the passenger's seat of his jeep. He was taking me and Jasper over to get some costumes, much to our dismay. Because we were his second and third in command, we needed to be present to help him administer his authority. Plus, we had to wrangle the freshmen when they got too drunk.

"This is stupid, though," I whined. "I agree to be there, isn't that enough? Why do I have to wear a costume?"

"Because I damn well said so," Emmett said with intense finality.

I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted like a 4-year-old. I didn't even care how childish I was being. Jasper was right there with me, anyway.

"Some on Swan, I can just wrap a bed sheet around me and say I'm Caesar," he called from the backseat. "I don't need to actually dress up in some poorly made, over-priced pirate costume."

"Both of you need to shut up before I start cracking your skulls together," Emmett said as he pulled into the Palouse Mall. "This is happening whether you like it or not."

I could hear the sounds of children excitedly running around, attempting to scare each other with horrific, fake masks before we even turned the corner. Thankfully, we ran into three (OK, two) beautiful distractions on our way to the store.

"Hello Angel," I said as I pulled my Bella into my arms. "Did you find something cute to wear for Halloween?"

"Hot would be the correct term," Samantha said with a smile that I didn't like.

The idea of Bella parading around in something that Samantha picked out disturbed me. Rosalie must have read my worried expression. "I picked it out, and it's beautiful – Bella's going to be the most stunning girl there."

I wasn't sure if I liked her being "stunning" around anyone other than myself either, but I sure liked it better than her looking as slutty as Samantha dressed a lot of the time.

"Well, show me then," I said.

"You'll see it tomorrow night," Rosalie said, taking Bella's hand and pulling her away from me. "If you don't mind, we've all got a date with Ben and Jerry."

With one last kiss, Bella fell in line behind Rose and Samantha. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at me as the rounded the corner and I spent the rest of our time in the store imagining what costume she would be wearing the next night.

**BPOV**

I stood in Samantha's room in my Greek Goddess costume and gazed in the mirror. I didn't have any makeup on yet, but I also didn't think I needed any. Samantha had been trying to push some elaborate makeup job on me, but I was going to stick to a natural look. Besides, Goddesses don't need no stinkin' makeup.

I applied a little mascara and lip gloss and followed Rosalie over to the Pi house. Most of my sorority sisters were already there and dressed as if they raided the Leg Avenue factory – angels, naughty nurses, geishas, Rainbow Brite and more cat suits than I had ever wanted to see in my life.

And all in ridiculous high heels. I was glad I stuck with the flat sandals, even if it was only 50 degrees outside.

"Bella…you look…cute," Jessica said as she looked me up and down with a smirk – she was wearing a two piece Go-Go costume with white, 5-inch boots to match.

She looked to Lauren, who was dressed as what I assumed was supposed to be a fairy and the both of them giggled quietly. I rolled my eyes and scanned the room for Edward.

Just as I looked up he was walking down the stairs in a pair of cargo pants with a plain white t-shirt and a fedora. From the whip rolled up on the side of his pants, it didn't take me long to guess who he was supposed to be. "So, Indiana Jones, have you seen my boyfriend Edward anywhere?"

"Yeah, scrawny guy with red hair, right? I beat him up and threw him in a snake pit."

"Why'd it have to be snakes?"

He chuckled and pulled me in for a kiss, "Well, I had to find some way to steal his Greek Goddess away, didn't I?"

"I guess so," I replied, kissing him again.

Emmett came downstairs dressed like a master chief from Halo and broke up our happy little moment.

"Break it up, this is not a night for making out, this is a night for getting nice and wasted," my dear brother said as he threw his arms around us.

I think he was already past wasted.

"Well put, Cullen," Jasper said as he approached us dressed as Disco Stu. "Well children – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we are all going to be in a great deal of pain!"

Jasper raised a glass of beer in the air to which Emmett tapped his own. Already, I didn't like where this night was heading.

**EPOV**

She didn't really need the costume, I already knew she was a Goddess. But, the little red dress was very nice. I tried to shield her from as many of the perverted glances as possible, but every now and then one of my fraternity brothers would brush past her and try to stare down the front of her dress – he was usually met with a nice, strong smack to the back of the head from me.

I still can't quite understand why a girl having a boyfriend makes her that much more desirable to other guys; but here I was, fending off my own frat brothers as they gave my girlfriend lewd looks. It was ridiculous.

A little after midnight, Bella was sitting with Rosalie and Samantha on the couch as everybody seemed to be either heading home or to another party. She looked so ethereal, just sitting and laughing there on the sofa, that I just stared at her from my place near the bottom of the stairs.

Emmett caught my attention once again by asking me if I had caught the most recent Seahawks game.

"Ahhh man! It was awesome! Hasselbeck killed that shit!" Emmett yelled as he slapped hands with Ben. "The Giants didn't know what hit them!"

I nodded in agreement, even though I didn't really have time to catch football games anymore. Bella was always far more interesting than 22 guys beating the shit out of each other.

I smiled at that thought and looked back over to find Bella gazing back at me with her head resting against the couch. I think we should probably call it a night. Before I could walk over, however, some loud, obnoxious jerks decided to walk into the house. The biggest jerk of all being James.

"Hey, Hey, Hey! What's up, bitches?!" One of James friends yelled as James sauntered in wearing some ridiculous pimp costume – typical.

James eyes scanned the room with a devious look; he stopped when they settled upon Bella and he started to walk over. I grabbed his arm and twirled him around to look at me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" I asked, getting in his face.

"Careful Cullen, I just got the wires off on Tuesday; not going to try to put me back in them, are you?"

"Hey, these assholes can't be here," Emmett said as he motioned to James three friends who were grabbing beers from the cooler and flirting with the remaining Sig Kaps who were too drunk to know better.

"Why not, there are other people here who aren't in the fraternity?" James asked with a defiant smirk.

"They're not acting like drunken morons," Emmett said. "So tell your friends to get out of here or I'll throw them out."

"Fine, we're leaving," James said holding his hands up. "See you on the 15th of December, Cullen."

I glared at the back of his head as he walked out.

**Thanksgiving – **

**BPOV**

We were meeting my dad at Edward's parent's house at 1 in the afternoon today. I just hoped that the directions I gave him would be good enough, I'm not very good at that stuff.

Thankfully, he was there in the driveway when we pulled up. He stepped out of his cruiser as we pulled up beside him.

"Hey dad," I said as I jumped out of the passenger seat of Edward's Volvo.

I hugged my dad close but could tell he was a little preoccupied – he was staring over my head at Edward who stood by his car awkwardly.

"Dad, this is Edward," I said as I motioned for Edward to come over. "Edward, this is my dad, Charlie."

"Chief Charlie Swan," my dad corrected. " Nice to meet you, Mr. Cullen."

Crap, this whole formal thing was dad's way of being overprotective. He was worse than Emmett, to tell you the truth.

"Hello, Chief Swan," Edward said. "It's really nice to meet you, too. Did you find the place OK? It's a bit tricky if you've never been here before."

"No trouble at all," Dad said, a bit too sternly. "Got the GPS in the cruiser."

"Of course," Edward laughed. "An officer probably shouldn't be without one of those."

Dad nodded and walked over to hug Emmett who was still rubbing his legs which had been folded up behind my seat for the past five hours.

"Hello everybody!" A tall blond man who looked way too young to have a 21-year-old son began to descend the front steps – behind him, an impossibly beautiful woman with long, reddish-brown hair followed.

"Hey Dad," Edward called, embracing the man. "I want you to meet my girlfriend, Bella."

Edward placed a gentle hand at the small of my back and led me towards his parents. I took a deep breath and reached out to shake Dr. Cullen's hand, "Hi, I'm Bella."

He took my hand and pulled me in for a hug, "No hand shakes around here. It's nice to meet you Bella. I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is Edward's mom, Esme."

Esme took her turn hugging me while Alice danced down the stairs and leapt towards me with amazing grace and agility.

"Bella!! I've missed you!" She cried as she pulled me close.

Jasper cleared his throat behind me and Alice released me from her embrace, "But I missed you most of all, Scarecrow!!"

She jumped into Jasper's arms and he chuckled and twirled her around.

"So, it appears more introductions are in order," Carlisle said. "Who's this, Alice?"

"I'm Jasper, sir," he said as he set Alice back on the ground.

"Edward, how did you fit five people in that tiny little car of yours?" Esme asked.

"It wasn't that bad," he replied, to which Emmett snorted an indignant laugh.

"Yeah, speak for yourself!" Emmett yelled as he began rubbing his knees again.

"Well come inside, everyone," Carlisle said. "Take a load off, dinner will be ready by four."

All the boys sat in the living room watching the Seahawks play the Cowboys. Alice and I joined Esme in the kitchen to help – Rosalie sat to the side.

"I'd help but I'm hopeless in the kitchen," she said as she watched me fix the green bean casserole.

"It's fine, sweetheart," Esme said. "I wasn't really expecting any of you girls to help with this, I've got it under control."

"Nonsense Mom!" Alice cried. "I've helped on Thanksgiving since I was 10-years-old, and I'm not about to stop now. Besides, I make the best sweet potato pie in the world."

"Yeah, and I love to cook, Mrs. Cullen," I said. "My mom was never much of a cook, so I usually took care of Thanksgiving."

"Please call me Esme, Bella – Mrs. Cullen makes me sound so old!" Esme said.

I giggled and nodded as I put the casserole in the oven.

"Smells good in here," Edward said as he walked in.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Alice replied as she put a pot of potatoes on the stove to boil. "Why don't you go back in and watch your football game?"

"Because I would rather spend time with my girlfriend," he said as he kissed me on the forehead.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest. I could feel three pairs of eyes staring at my back as I stood there nestled against Edward.

"You have officially made every man in the next room look like an asshole, Eddie," Rosalie said. "Good work."

Alice and Esme laughed as I remained glued to the spot, not wanting to leave the comfort of his strong arms. Suddenly, Emmett burst through the door – my brother is a real moment ruiner.

"Cullen! I thought you were getting us some beers!" He yelled as he found his way to the fridge to grab three Miller Lites. "You can get yours on your own, loverboy!"

Rosalie put a hand over her face as Emmett left the kitchen, "Sorry about my oh so charming boyfriend."

**EPOV**

We sat down to dinner at 4 p.m. on the dot. My mother is nothing if not punctual and efficient.

My dad gave up his seat at the head of the table to Charlie, which led to a fairly amusing if awkward conversation between the two.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly, Carlisle."

"I insist, Charlie, you're the guest of honor today."

It went on for a good five minutes.

Dad even gave up carving duties which delighted Charlie to no end. I think my dad realized that I was walking a pretty thin line with Charlie, seeing as how I was her daughter's new, older boyfriend; dad was just trying to make the situation a little easier.

We all began to dig in, Emmett waited until everyone had food before filling his plate with enough food for five people. I was almost finished with my piece of turkey when I found a very familiar looking part lying on my plate – the wishbone.

"Seems you have a wish to make, dear," my mom said as she lifted a fork full of potatoes.

I picked up the bone and turned to Bella; I held it up and she took the other end.

"1, 2, 3, pull," I said.

Bella pulled her end, but I ended up with the larger end. I closed my eyes and made a wish I never thought I'd make in a million years – to marry Bella one day. I almost giggled out loud at the thought.

"What'd you wish for?" Emmett asked.

"He can't tell you that!" Rosalie said.

"But, you may know some day," I said ominously.

I turned to my mother and she gave me a knowing smile.

**Next up: Trials and tribulations…or something…**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, I know there should have been more hearings and what-not concerning the trial (I do watch a lot of "Law and Order"), but I'm skipping straight to the actual trial. And I gave James the last name Volchok in reference to Cam Gigandet's character on The O.C., in case you're wondering.**

**December 15 – **

**EPOV**

It's the day of my trial, and I've never been more nervous in my entire life.

I couldn't even get my tie straight as I stared in the mirror, wondering what my fate would be. Bella came up behind me and pushed my clumsy hands aside.

"Let me do it," she whispered as she looped the tie through properly and secured it near the base of my throat. "It's not too tight, is it?"

"'S fine," I choked out, my voice was weak.

"Everything is going to be just fine," she said, wrapping her arms around my chest and pressing her cheek between my shoulder blades.

"Wish I could believe that," I whispered.

She was about to say something else when there was a knock on my door. She turned to answer it – my parents stood there with Mark, my lawyer, and almost all of my fraternity brothers.

"Seems we're taking an army with us to the trial," my dad said with a weak laugh.

"Just so long as you all remember to keep cool," Mark reminded them. "Getting too worked up won't help Edward in the least."

They all nodded at him.

My trial was set for 9 a.m., and we arrived almost 30 minutes early. I don't know if it was just out of nerves or making absolutely sure that we weren't late. I sat on a bench just outside of the courtroom between Bella and my mom. Both held my hands and whispered encouraging words to me.

Mark walked up and knelt so he was eye-level with me, "Ready?"

I nodded, too nervous to speak.

"Alright, let's go do this."

I was already seated at the table for the defense when the doors to the courtroom burst open and a group of men made a big show of entering. It was James and his entourage – lawyers, parents and a slew of friends. And he was wearing a neck brace! A NECK BRACE!! I hit him once and I didn't break his stupid neck! What is this, an episode of the Brady Bunch?

We went through all of the regulation preliminaries – rising for the judge and then each attorney got to make an opening statement.

I sat there, almost numb to the whole proceeding; James tried to play up the whole 'I'm an innocent victim' angle. He even winced once when he had to turn his head.

I had specifically asked Mark not to ask Bella to the stand, I didn't want to have to put her through that.

Of course, that didn't mean the prosecutor wouldn't call her – but Mark had prepared Bella for such a situation. And sure enough, she was called by those rat bastards. She stood at the stand and took the oath before sitting down to face one of the greasy-haired men sitting around James. I couldn't see his face, but I knew James was probably sitting there, undressing Bella with his eyes.

The lawyer began asking Bella about that night, her story didn't deviate from mine in the slightest; accept that it was from her perspective and with her feelings on the subject. Then the guy asked her a question that made me want to jump out of the seat and strangle him.

"Miss Swan, isn't it true that on more than one occasion you have made advances towards my client that he might construe as you having an interest in him sexually?"

"Objection," Mark called as he put a calming hand on my shoulder. "Irrelevant, your honor. What does that have to do with this case?"

"I just want to establish that my client only made the remarks he did that night because he believed that Miss Swan had an interest in him, and not Mr. Cullen," the scumbag said.

"Objection overruled – please answer, Miss Swan," the judge said.

"No," Bella said simply and calmly. "I have never made any advances towards him. But he's come on to me several ti..."

"Really?" The prosecutor asked, cutting Bella off. "You mean, you've never made advances towards him at any of the fraternity parties? Not even during rush when you were 'offering your services' to him?"

Marks hand gripped my shoulder even tighter as I was about to jump up and pummel this asshole. Bella didn't come on to James at that party, he came on to her! Luckily, Bella was still the picture of cool as she replied, "No, all of the new Kappa pledges had to serve the Sigma Pi's that night, I did not 'offer my services,' I simply asked him if I could fetch him a drink."

"A beer, I believe, Miss Swan," the prosecutor retorted, trying a different angle. "Were you trying to get my client drunk?"

"No, I was not," she said simply.

"Mr. Smith, please move on," the judge demanded.

"Certainly your honor," the man said. "I have no further questions for Miss Swan."

He sat down and Mark stood up to cross-examine.

"Miss Swan, can you tell us a little bit more about that night the prosecutor spoke of?"

"Mr. Burke, we've covered that already," the judge interrupted.

"Your honor, I'm trying to let the jury know that James Volchok has, on several occasions, harassed Miss Swan, which was a part of the reason my client retaliated on the night of September 15."

The judge sat back, "I'll allow it, then; just don't linger too much, Mr. Burke."

"Thank you your honor," Mark began, "Now, Miss Swan, what happened that night, in your own words."

Bella launched into the story of how James came onto her, and how he grabbed her elbow so tight that he caused her pain. Mark then thanked Bella and said he had no further questions. I gazed up at her with a strange mixture of awe and regret—I hated that she had to go through this. None of this was her fault.

When my name was called to go up to the stand, I finally rose to face my fate. I was on the brink of terror when I had to place my hand on that stupid bible and swear to tell the truth.

James didn't seem to have any problem not telling the truth, why should I?

Mark began his questions about that night, and I recounted the whole story as I remembered it. At the pub, I didn't have anything to drink and I just lost control when James began taunting me and Bella.

Once both sides were heard, the jury was taken back to deliberate over the evidence. I hoped that they would see through James' false injury and see that I was just a guy who made a dumb mistake.

**BPOV**

We waited for three hours while the jury deliberated. I was a nervous wreck, just sitting there next to Esme fretting over what the outcome would be. They wouldn't allow me to go over and sit with Edward, and I wanted more than anything to hold him and let him know I'm here for him, not matter what happens.

He as there at the defense table as Mark occasionally turned to him to say something—and each time, Edward would nod softly. I wrung my hands and glanced nervously at the door that the jury walked out of. Esme grabbed my hands and placed them in my lap gently.

"It's OK, Bella, everything is going to be fine."

"Yes, Edward will probably get some community service, pay a fine and have some probation," Carlisle said. "That's what Mark said would most likely happen considering he doesn't have a criminal record."

I nodded and smiled weakly; the jury came back in and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that they took three hours? Would they understand Edward's situation?

The jury foreman stood and handed the verdict to the bailiff who took it to the judge.

"And this is the jury's final verdict?" The judge asked.

"Yes your honor," the foreman responded as he took back the piece of paper.

"Alright then, in the charge of third degree assault, how does the jury find Mr. Cullen?"

"Not guilty," the foreman said.

I wanted to jump up and kiss that man right then and there. Except, I had to wait and hear what he had to say about the next count.

"And, in the charge of fourth degree assault, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant guilty, your honor."

The courtroom exploded with the shouts of the fraternity brothers who claimed the verdict was unfair. The judge banged the gavel and brought everything back in order.

"Silence!" The judge yelled. "Now, seeing as how Mr. Cullen has no prior record and was surely acting out of defense, I sentence him to 18 months probation, 50 hours of community service and a fine of 1,000. You are all dismissed."

I jumped up and ran to Edward as he walk back to where we were sitting.

"Oh Edward! Thank god! Only probation!" I said as my eyes filled with tears.

"Shhhh Angel, I'm fine," he whispered as he kissed the top of my head. "Are you OK? I'm sorry they called you up there. I knew they'd be ruthless, but I didn't think they'd be that cold-hearted."

"I'm fine," I said, wiping my eyes.

Carlisle and Esme came up behind us and gave us both hugs.

"Well, I guess we learned an important lesson here," Carlisle said.

"Yes," I replied. "Bashing jerks in the face isn't worth the trouble, even if they did insult your girlfriend."

"No," Edward said simply. "I'd do it again. I'd actually break his neck, if you want to know the truth."

"Edward," his mother hissed. "You don't mean that. Now, let's go get something to eat, I'm sure we're all famished."

I didn't realize how hungry I was until Esme mentioned it. We made our way to a local Chili's where Edward and I sat in a corner booth with his parents, none of us really felt like talking anymore. I took a sip of my iced tea as the server brought our food over.

As we began to eat, Carlisle sat back and gazed thoughtfully at Edward. "Son, you are alright, aren't you?"

Edward looked up with a quizzical look and a mouthful of burger, "I'm fine."

"Really? You don't need to talk to anyone? I mean, you know I have friends who work out here, like Dr. Hirai. She's a professor at the university."

"I don't need a shrink, Dad," Edward said, trying not to sound defensive. "I'm fine, really."

"OK, but if you change your mind..."

"I won't, but thanks anyway," Edward said quickly.

I gave him a worried glance as I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork. He winked at me as he shoved a fry into his mouth. Maybe his dad was right, he's been crying a lot these days and I wasn't sure why.

We said goodbye to his parents and went back to the Pi house. I sat on his bed and took off my shoes – I'm still not sure what possessed me to wear pumps – as Edward removed his coat, tie and shoes. He was removing his belt when he looked at me in the mirror. I was leaning back and gazing into nothingness when the movement of his belt sliding through the belt loops suddenly caught my attention.

I looked up to see he had a lustful look in his eye. I looked away and curled up into a ball on the bed. He was by my side in a split second.

"Angel, is something wrong?"

"You should go talk to that Dr. Hirai," I said.

"What? Where is this coming from?" He asked defensively. "Do you think they're something wrong with me?"

"...Maybe...you...you've been crying a lot lately," I said. "Especially after we make love. You do it in the middle of the night, too, when you think I'm asleep."

"I've just been worried about the trial, that's all," he said as he rubbed my back gently. "Now that it's over, we can forget this mess ever happened."

"I think it's more than that," I said. "This didn't sound like stressful cries, they sounded like something else to me. Like you're afraid of something."

"What could I possibly have to be afraid of?" He asked.

"You tell me."

He pulled away for a moment and looked at me. A lone tear fell down his cheek.

"It's not that I'm afraid," he said. "It's just that I've never felt this way before and sometimes I have a hard time dealing with it."

He sat on the bed near my feet and put his head in his hands.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Felt what way? About what?"

"The way I feel about you," he replied. "I love you so much, Angel, you have no idea. But, I've never been in love before. At times, it makes me feel like I can do anything...and sometimes, it makes me feel weak. And I hate feeling weak."

"It's not necessarily weakness," I said. "Sure, you feel vulnerable...I do sometimes, too. But, I know that it just means I need you – I need you to be here to love me and support me. Just like you need me. I love you too, Edward, just as much as you love me."

"And you're never scared?" He asked. "You never let the weakness...or vulnerability get to you?"

"At first I did, but I've learned how to deal with it," I said. "I know that you love me. And I know how much you love me, that's why the vulnerable moments don't scare me, because I know you're there to keep me safe and loved."

He turned to me and wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head on my chest. I tangled my hands into his hair as we both lay back against his pillows.

"OK, if you want me to go talk to that friend of my dad's, I will," he said.

"Thank you," I whispered into his hair.

He lifted his head to look at me and I could see the lines running down his face where his tears had dried. He smiled sweetly and moved himself up so we were face to face.

"I love you."

**EPOV**

I can't say it enough – she's more than I deserve.

She just lay there in my arms looking so sweet and beautiful and wonderful. Her warm little body was too inviting to resist. I kissed her softly then worked my way down until I was at the hem of her grey dress.

I thanked the lord she wasn't wearing any tights or nylons as I lifted the hem up past her knees to her panties. She reached down to stop me, but I protested. "No, I want to make you feel good, Angel. You've been so patient and wonderful all day, and I hate that I put you through all of this needless worry."

"It wasn't needless," she said.

I silenced her with my right index finger and gave her a pleading look. She nodded and I lowered myself back down to her delicate, white panties. I was so happy that Bella's not one of those types of girls who wears any sort of weird underwear – no thongs, no g-strings; just simple, comfortable panties. They suited her.

Although, I think one of these days I'm going to have to buy her a naughty nightgown – something from Victoria's Secret.

I pulled the cotton panties down her legs and dropped them on the floor. I gently massaged her knee and kissed my way back to her center. I began by running a finger up and down the slit of her entrance.

A soft moan escaped her lips as I slipped one finger inside of her. I began to pump it in and out of her as I flicked my tongue flicked out to touch her sensitive nub. Her hips jutted upward towards my face and I placed my left hand on her pelvis to keep her from coming off of the bed.

"Edward…" she whimpered.

I smiled and placed my tongue more firmly on her clit – this time I gently massaged it in rhythm with my fingers stroking in and out of her. I replaced my finger with my tongue, then, and continued to massage her clit with my finger.

She tasted sweet. I've never gone down on a girl before, so this was all as new to me as it was to her. And, I had to admit, I liked it very much. It was even better than having Bella go down on me.

The only unfortunate part was that I was feeling a tightness in my pants. I didn't want anything about my time with Bella today to be about me – this was all about my Angel.

Her breathing was coming faster and her moans were getting louder. Her walls were contracting all around my tongue and it was the most incredible, sensual experience I've ever had.

"That was amazing, Lover," she whispered as she came down from her orgasm.

I crawled back up to wrap her tightly in my arms and saw that she was gazing at me with a wanton look in her eye – she was biting the lower right corner of her lip. Suddenly, I felt her hand creep down the front of my pants and her fingers brush across my erection. I grabbed her hand and pulled it up to my lips for a kiss.

"No Angel, not today," I said.

"But, I want to do the same to you as you did to me," she protested.

"No, this day is going to be all about you," I said – she opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. "And, I don't want to hear anything about you wanting to do this and I should let you – you're not fooling me with that twice."

She chuckled and looked down towards my pants, "So, what are you going to do about your…um…situation then?"

"Would you join me for a nice, long shower?"

**Ya'll knew I wouldn't put Edward away – that'd really kill the story!**

**Next up is the holidays…and some possible Jacob…and Renee…**


	13. Chapter 13

**EPOV **

I sat in an ornate office feeling more awkward than I ever had in my life. But, if Bella wanted me to give this a try, I wasn't about to simply dismiss it – even if I felt, deep down, that nothing would come of it.

There's nothing wrong with me.

"Hello Edward, you don't mind if I'm informal here, do you?" Dr. Hirai asked.

"'S fine," I replied.

"Good, now you said over the phone that your girlfriend has been worried about you, that you've been very emotional lately – have you been under a great deal of stress?"

"Yes, I recently was tried for assault," I said.

"Oh my! Do you mind telling me about the incident that led to the trial?"

"I had an altercation with another young man because he has been constantly taunting me and my girlfriend," I said. "I just snapped – one night I had had enough. So, I punched him in jaw."

"How did you feel afterward? Were you sorry for what you had done?"

"Not really," I replied simply. "I was sorry I did it in front of Bella, but I wasn't sorry that I hit him. I just felt numb afterwards; I couldn't feel anything at all."

"They took you to jail, is that correct?" I nodded. "What was that like?"

"A bit uncomfortable," I shrugged. "They don't exactly provide stellar accommodations for a guy who just committed assault."

"But, did you feel anything then? Scared? Nervous? Remorseful?"

"I was a little upset," I said, "Because I thought about my parents and how they would be so disappointed in what I had done."

"So you were concerned about what your parents and girlfriend would think, but not sorry about the act itself?"

I shrugged and shook my head. She scribbled something down on the paper in front of her.

"Now, when you've had these crying fits you spoke about, what was on your mind usually? Was it the impending trial?"

"Sometimes."

"And other times?"

I hesitated, she was delving into something personal and I wasn't sure I wanted to let her in on it.

"Edward, I can't help you unless you help me."

I sighed and leaned back further in the leather armchair, "It's just…I think about Bella."

"What about Bella?"

"I've never been in love with anyone before," I said. "I've been with a lot of girls, but I usually don't get involved emotionally. The only time I had done that before Bella, I got majorly screwed over."

"How?"

"The girl didn't love me like I loved her; she slept with my best friend."

"I see," she did some more scribbling. "And you're afraid Bella will do the same?"

"Not at all," I said. "I trust Bella completely."

"So, what do you think makes you so afraid?"

"Weakness," I replied. "I feel weak when I'm around her. She says its vulnerability and that it's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm still not sure I'm convinced."

"You're not comfortable when you can't control a situation, are you Edward?"

I thought about that for a moment, "No, I guess I'm not."

"You were upset that simply reasoning with that young man couldn't stop him from taunting Bella," she said. "And you're upset when you can't control the way you feel about her."

I sat back – did this woman actually have a good point?

"It's nothing serious, Edward," she said with a knowing smile. "You have a few anger and control issues, but it's nothing you're incapable of working through. And, as for what you feel for Bella, she's right – a little vulnerability can be a good thing."

I felt a smirk pull at the right corner of my mouth and I nodded in agreement. Dr. Hirai smiled and stood up, "Thank you for coming in today, Edward. If you want to talk again, my door is always open."

I stood and shook her hand, "No, thank you Dr. Hirai."

"Enjoy your holidays."

"You do the same."

**BPOV**

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm getting giddy like I used to when I was a kid. Of course, that was when my Grandma Swan was still alive. She'd come to visit from Olympia and she and I would make cookies and peanut brittle. She had this old Bing Crosby Christmas record that we would play on an old record player Dad keeps in the basement.

Christmases haven't been the same since she died when I was 13 – they got even worse when my parents got divorced. But this Christmas would be spent with Edward. And I was going to try my damndest to make this a special holiday.

Since we spent Thanksgiving in Seattle, the Cullen's were invited to visit Forks for Christmas – and I wanted more than anything to give them the best holiday they've ever had.

Edward and I drove to Forks on Saturday, leaving at 7 in the morning so we would show up a little after 5 for dinner. Emmett and Rosalie left a little bit later and took the Jeep so we wouldn't all be stuck with one car for the two weeks we'd be in Forks.

I slept most of the way home, and found myself fogging up the window on Edward's passenger side. I heard a chuckle and a nudge that brought me back to consciousness. Edward was giving me a grin as he gently brushed the side of my face.

"Breathing pretty heavily over there, having a good dream?"

"It was about you," I replied, "So, yeah it was a very good dream."

He leaned in for a kiss and we were just getting into it when a tap came at Edward's window. It was my dad – so that's where Emmett gets it from.

"Hey kids," he said. "How was the trip?"

"Fine, thankfully we got out early before the snow this evening," Edward said.

"Good thinking," Dad said. "Bella…the side of your face is all red."

"Yeah," I said, rubbing my cheek. "I was sleeping kind of awkwardly."

Dad chuckled as he brought me in for a hug. Edward began to get our bags out of the back of the Volvo.

"Need some help, Edward?" Dad asked with mild enthusiasm.

"No thanks, Charlie, I've got it."

Dad led us inside and Edward took our bags up to my room. My Corgi, Basher, jumped around our legs as we walked through the house.

"Ohh, how's my baby?" I cooed, picking him up and receiving my daily dose of puppy kisses.

"You're not taking all of the bags up there, are ya Edward?" Dad asked.

"Um…yeah, why? Is there somewhere else I should take them?"

"I've set you up in here," Dad replied, taking Edward to the formal living room that we never use – there was an air mattress set up in there.

"Oh," Edward said. "OK, I'll just bring my bags down here, I guess."

Edward went to fetch his bags as I approached my dad, "Can I talk to you in the kitchen?"

"Sure Bells."

As soon as we walked through the kitchen doors, my temper got the better of me.

"Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore, why are you making my boyfriend sleep in the living room?"

"Isabella Marie Swan, you've lost your damn mind if you think I'm letting you and Edward share a bed under my roof."

"You're letting Emmett and Rosalie stay in Emmett's old room!" I cried.

"That's different, Emmett's a grown man and Rosalie is not my daughter," he replied. "Besides, they'll be married next summer anyway."

"That's so unfair…wait! What do you mean married next summer?" I asked, my anger suddenly dissipating.

Dad blushed a little and ducked his head in embarrassment, "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but Emmett asked me to find your Grandma Swan's wedding ring for him. He's proposing to Rosalie on Christmas Eve."

I almost let out a sob – who would have guessed my big lug of a brother was so romantic?

"Wow, really? That's so great," I said – I decided to let the whole Edward sleeping downstairs slide for now. Instead, Dad and I hugged as I let a little tear of happiness roll down my cheek.

"What's wrong, Angel?" Edward asked as he walked into the kitchen.

I looked to Dad, who winked at me to let me know it was OK to tell him.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just happy," I said. "Emmett's going to ask Rose to marry him."

"That's awesome," Edward said as he wrapped me in his arms. "I'm so happy for them; Rose is so good for him."

"That she is," Dad said. "But, it's still a secret, so keep it hush-hush."

Edward twisted his fingers over his lips – mimicking the turning of a key. I giggled, "You're so silly."

"You love it," Edward replied as he nuzzled my nose with his own.

Dad coughed lightly, "Well, I'm gonna go over to Pacific Pizza, what do you kids want?"

"Cheese is fine, Dad," I said.  
"Yeah, I'll eat anything, Charlie," Edward said.

I couldn't be sure, but I swore I heard Charlie mutter, "I'm sure you would," but I decided to ignore it.

Edward and I were settling down to watch some Food Network as Emmett and Rosalie made their way into the house.  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Emmett called in his best Fat Albert voice. "Where is everybody?"

"In the TV room," I called, not bothering to get up from the couch.

Emmett and Rosalie dropped their bags in the foyer and walked into the room.

"Where's Dad?" Emmett asked as he plopped himself next to me on the couch, causing me to shot up out of my seat almost a foot.

"He went to get pizza," Edward said as he pulled me into his lap so Rosalie could sit on the couch.

Just then, Dad came through the door, "Food's here!"

"Hey Dad!" Emmett yelled, jumping up to grab the boxes of pizza out of Dad's hands.

"Glad to see you too, Em," Dad laughed as he walked into the TV room.

He scowled when he saw me seated on Edward's lap with my arms around his neck. I slip back onto the couch shyly as Rosalie jumped up to give Dad a hug.

"Hey Charlie! How are you?"

"Good Rose! You're looking lovely as ever."

"I try," she giggled.

"Well," Charlie said as he gave Edward one last wearied glance, "Ready to eat?"

**EPOV**

I really can't blame Charlie. I know that when I'm a father, I'll be just as overprotective. Still, I wanted him to know that I intend to take care of Bella. I'm not just some guy who's passing through; I want to be with her forever.

It's difficult for Charlie to accept that, though, because Bella is only 19 and at the start of college. I'm almost on my way out – and even though I'm going to med-school, I'm at the place where settling down is becoming more of an option every day.

Still, it's not as though a couple never married while still in college – of course, those do tend to be shotgun weddings.

My parents, Alice and Jasper arrived on the morning of Christmas Eve, Charlie and Bella had planned out a big dinner to celebrate the occasion and also worked with Emmett to help him find the right moment to propose.

Bella put up a bit of a fuss when my mother insisted on helping, claiming she didn't want a guest to have to lift a finger this holiday. But, my mom is just as stubborn as my Angel, and she ended up getting Bella to let her at least make some desserts.

And boy did my mom deliver – cookies, a Yule Log cake and three different kinds of pies. Rosalie huffed into the kitchen with mock frustration, claiming Mom was trying to make her fat.

"You could use a few pounds," Alice teased.

"Speak for yourself, Pixie," Rose shot back.

Bella made a roasted, whole chicken with carrots and red potatoes, some homemade rolls and a gigantic salad. We all sat down and dug in – that is except for Emmett, who seemed unable to eat out of nerves. Unfortunately, this raised a great deal of suspicion from Rosalie.

"Honey, since when are you not hungry?"

"Oh, I had a big lunch," Emmett said quickly.

"And?" Rosalie asked incredulously.

Jasper and I looked at each other and laughed, which received a dirty look from Bella and Charlie. Emmett managed to choke down at least a normal human-sized meal before Bella and Mom cleared the table and brought out the desserts. My mom pulled out a bottle of champagne, which was Emmett's cue to give a little toast.

"I'd just like to say how happy I am to be surrounded by all of the people I care about in this world," Emmett began, raising a glass of champagne. "I'm with the two people who've stood by me my whole life – my dad, Charlie and my sister, Bella; my two best friends and fraternity brothers – Edward and Jasper; my new family, the Cullens; but, most importantly, I'm here with the woman I love. Rosie, we've been together for almost three years now and I can't imagine my life without you."

Rose sat up straight and looked at Emmett intently, her eyes began to well up, "Em, wh…what are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Emmett continued, getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring, "That I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Rosalie Lillian Hale, will you marry me?"

Rose slipped out of her chair and ended up down on the floor next to Emmett – the tears were flowing freely now.

"Yes," she cried. "Yes Emmett, I'll marry you!! I want more than anything to be your wife!!"

Emmett slid the ring on her finger before pulling Rosalie in for a kiss. Bella turned to me from across the table with tears in her eyes; I gave her a big smile. Out of the corner of my eye, my mom gave me a knowing look.

We gorged ourselves on dessert and champagne before heading off to bed. Because my parents were here, I has relegated to a sleeping bag in the TV room. Jasper took a bag next to me as Alice slept on the couch.

I was woken in the middle of the night by a combination of Jasper's and Basher's snoring. I rolled over in my bag to come face to face with the dog, who promptly woke up and attacked my face with wet, disgusting kisses.

I unzipped the bag and got up to wash my face in the bathroom. Once I dried myself, I shut off the lights and waited a moment until my eyes adjusted to the dark again. I walked back into the TV room to find Basher had now taken over my sleeping bag. I turned back towards the hallway and suddenly found myself making my way up the stairs.

I eased Bella's door open and stepped through.

**BPOV**

I've never been so happy in all my life! My big brother is going to marry a wonderful girl! Once the two had shared their moment on the floor, I jumped up and hugged them both tightly.

"I'm so happy for you two," I said through my tears.

"Thanks baby sister," Emmett said.  
"Oh Bella! I'm so happy I get to be your sister," Rosalie said. "Will you be my maid-of-honor?"

I was taken aback for a moment, "Y…yes! Yes!! Of course I will! I'd be honored!!"

After I had a taste of every different dessert, I gave Edward a goodnight kiss and went up to my room and practically passed out as soon as I hit the bed.

I was in a deep sleep when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. In my dream, I imagined Edward and I were in bed together. But, we weren't in the Pi house, it was different; I think it was an apartment of our own.

His lips found their way to me ear as he whispered, "Angel…are you asleep?"

It was then that I realized it wasn't a dream – we were in my bedroom and he was there behind me, holding me close.

"Edward, what are you doing? My dad's going to kill you if he finds you here," I whispered.

"Your dog took my sleeping bag when I got up to use the bathroom," he said. "So, I thought I'd find a better bed."

"We're going to get in trouble," I protested as I turned around.

He silenced me with a kiss and my arms instinctively wrapped around his neck. I really didn't care if my dad caught us – we're adults and don't need his permission to be together.

Although, it was just then that I realized that I was only wearing a wife beater and my panties. I had covered myself in a quilt and an electric blanket, so I kicked off my pajama shorts sometime during the night.

Edward's hands found their way to my thighs and began to massage as we kissed. I lifted my right leg so it draped over his hip and could feel that he was already beyond excited. I pulled back and gazed at him thoughtfully.

"I don't think we can be quiet enough that we don't wake anybody," I said.

"I know," he replied. "That doesn't stop the fact that I get this way every time I'm around you."

I giggled and nestled my head under his chin, "Silly boy – I get that way whenever I'm around you, too."

"Yeah," he said. "But you don't have any of these…tale tell signs."

"That's true," I laughed.

We lay like that for what seemed like an hour before he spoke again.

"So, Ms. Maid-of-honor, how does it feel to know you'll have a sister by the end of next summer?"

"Awesome," I said. "I can't imagine anyone I'd rather have as a sister."

"Really? Not anyone in the whole world?"

"No one comes to mind, why?"

"Well…what about Alice?"

I glanced up at him, "Well, yeah I'd like to have Alice as a sister – she's great. But, since Jasper's not really my brother, I don't know how that would happen?"

He looked at me in disbelief, "You think I meant if she marries Jasper?"

"Well, what…" my eyes got wide, "Oh."

"Yeah," he said. "I meant when you and I get married."

"When?"

He pulled back a bit and looked at me, "I'm not sure when, Bella, but I know that I want to marry you one day. Don't…don't you want to marry me?"

"Yes, one day…but, I haven't thought about it that much, I guess," I said as I searched for the right words. "I mean, I'm only 19, Edward, I wasn't planning on getting married until I'm at least about 21 or after."

"I know you're young, Bella," he said gently as he caressed my face. "That's why I was a little afraid to bring anything up. I don't want you to feel pressured; I just wanted you to know how I feel. I want to promise you that, as soon as you're ready, I want to marry you."

My heart was thumping like a steam engine. He wants to marry me? I know he loves me, and that he's been with me for almost four months now, but sometimes it still feels just too unreal. As if, at any moment he could just wake up and realize he could do better.

"Bella," he whispered, bringing me back to reality, "Will you promise me that you'll marry me?"

"Yes, Edward, I promise."

He kissed me deeply as we fell asleep in each other's arms.

**EPOV**

I awoke again to the chatter of people downstairs. I distinctly heard the voice of my sister chirping away with excitement. Then I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Bella," Rosalie said as she poked her head inside the room. "Time to wake up, sweetie."

She stopped dead when she noticed me in the bed with Bella, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just barge in on you guys."

"It's OK, Rose," I said as I nudged Bella awake, "better you than Charlie."

"True," Rosalie said as she shut the door behind her.

"Angel, time to get up; Alice is anxious to open presents."

"OK," she smiled sleepily.

I jumped up and stuck my head out the door to make sure no one was out there, and then made my way discreetly downstairs. Everyone was too happy and excited about Christmas morning and the events of last night to notice me, which I was eternally grateful for.

Bella made her way downstairs a moment later.

We sat around the TV room and exchanged gifts – Emmett got Charlie a new fishing rod, my dad got my mom about 500 dollars worth of merchandise from Pampered Chef, Jasper got Alice a white gold and platinum charm bracelet.

I pulled out Bella's gift, which came in a small, black jewelry box. Her eyes got wide.

"Edward," she whispered, "This isn't…is it?"

"Open it," I laughed.

She gave me a wary look and pulled the ribbon off the box. She pulled it open slowly and breathed a sigh of relief when she found a pair of sapphire earrings, her birthstone.

"They're beautiful," she breathed. "Thank you, Edward."

She was about to hand me her present, which I told her was unnecessary – since I already have her, when the doorbell rang.

"Surprise," came a chorus of voices from the foyer as Charlie let five people into the house.

One of them I recognized as Jacob – Bella's ex-boyfriend.

"Em, Bells! Look who's here!" Charlie called as he led the people into the room. "Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, Alice and Edward – this is Sue, Leah and Seth Clearwater and Billy and Jacob Black."

Everybody said a round of hellos and Basher jumped happily around Seth's and Jacob's feet as I held Bella just a little bit tighter. Jacob eyed her lasciviously and Billy gave me an evil look. The little boy named Seth jumped into Emmett's lap as the mother, Sue, shook hands with my parents.

"So, how do you know the Swan's?" Sue asked them.

"Edward, our son here," my dad said, motioning to me, "Is Bella's boyfriend."

"Oh," Sue said quietly. "Well…that's nice."

The five found seats and began to hand out their presents for the Swans.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know they'd have company," the old man, Billy Black, said. "We would have brought you all something."

"Oh no," my mom said. "I wouldn't have you go through all that trouble."

Jacob stood from his position next to his father's wheelchair and walked over to Bella.

"Here Bells, I got this for you," he said.

Bella tentatively took the box and opened it to find a pair of drop pearl earrings.

"Oh," she said as she put her hand to her heart, "They're beautiful Jacob. But aren't they…"

"They were my mom's," he said. "I want you to have them."

"Why?" Bella asked.

"Because," he began as I tightened my hold around her waist, "It's not like they're going to be of any use to me or Dad."

"But, why me, Jacob? Why not some girl who might appreciate them more?"

"You don't appreciate them?"

"I do, but I'm not your girlfriend. So, what will you give to her now that you've given these to me?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," he retorted.

"But, when you do…"

"Bella," my dad said, "I hate to interrupt, but we haven't had a chance to give you our present."

Dad stood and walked to Bella, handing her another small box. "This is from Esme and me."

"Thank you, but you didn't have to," Bella said.  
"Of course we did, sweetheart!" Mom said. "You're practically family now."

Bella opened it to find an antique gold and diamond choker, "Ah! Esme! Carlisle! This is just too much!"

I pulled the necklace out of the box and put it on Bella so she could show my parents how it looked on her.

"Oh Bella! That's so pretty!" Rosalie gasped.

"It suits you!" Alice said. "I have the silver and diamond one, this one looks even better on you, though."

"But, this must be worth a fortune," Bella protested. "You really shouldn't have."

"Shhhh," I whispered in her ear, "You're not going to get them to budge on this, just accept the gift, Angel."

She sighed and leaned a little closer to me. "Thank you, really. It's so lovely."

"Not as lovely as you, dearest Bella," my dad said.

"Wow, how long have you had that in the family, Carlisle?" Charlie asked.

"It belonged to my great-great-great-grandmother, who was the baroness of Shaftesbury during part of the 19th century," dad said.

As proud as I am of my ancestry, I felt a little self-conscious about it as my dad spoke about it right now – especially when Jacob rolled his eyes when Dad spoke of my ancestor's title.

Charlie whistled and came over to look at the detail of the choker. "That's real nice, Carlisle. And Alice is right, Bells, it suits you."

"Thanks Dad," she replied.

I leaned in and kissed the side of her neck; out of the corner of my eye, Jacob gave me a disgusted look and turned away. I stared in his direction until he looked back at me – when he did, I gave him a look that said, "she's mine! And I'll never let you have her, ever again!"

**OK, runnin' out of steam, homies!**

**Next up: Renee…she won't be as big of an a-hole as I usually make her, I promise!**

**P.S. I do have a Corgi named Basher. I'm putting a photo of me and him up on my profile – check it out, he's a cutie!**

**P.P.S. RIP Bernie Mac :-(  
With George Carlin and B.M. now gone, the world is a lot less funny.**


	14. Chapter 14

**BPOV**

I was all set to make breakfast by myself, but neither Sue nor Esme was having any of it – they were there beside me, cooking bacon and brewing coffee. I made pancakes, some with blueberries and some with chocolate chips for the kids. Sue made the syrup from scratch.

Esme cooked up some bacon in a skillet next to me as I flipped the pancakes on a griddle. We all were cooking in silence until Sue tried to make some small talk.

"So Bells, how do you like school?"

"It's awesome, I really like Pullman," I said.

"But it's so far away, Bells, we miss you here," Sue said as she put her chin on my shoulder and watched me cook for a moment.

"I miss you guys too," I replied quietly – not wanting to say how Pullman is quickly becoming like home to me.

"I can't wait for the semester to start so I can take my first photography class," I said.

"That's great Bella," Esme said. "You know, I have this Nikon D300 that I really don't use anymore, would you like it?"

"Really? Of course, I'd love that!" I said as I threw my arms around her. "Thanks Esme! You and Carlisle are too nice to me!"

"You deserve it, sweetheart," Esme replied as she hugged me back.

"Wow Esme, you and your husband must really like Bella to give her so many gifts," Sue quipped.

"Well, she is Edward's girlfriend," Esme replied, "And, I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, we're having another surprise proposal."

Esme winked at me and I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her how it won't be a surprise. It was pretty much already decided.

We got the food out on the table as everybody gathered to grab their stacks of pancakes. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Edward took their food to eat on the floor of the TV room. Rosalie stood by the island in the middle of the kitchen, talking excitedly and admiring her ring.

"Oh Bells! This is going to be so great! Finish your breakfast quick because I want to go online and start looking for things for the wedding."

"Rose, we have months to worry about that stuff," I laughed.

"We have six months, that's not that much time," she countered. "Besides, I can't do too much from Pullman, so I want to go visit some places while we're close to Seattle."

"OK, the maid-of-honor must do her mistresses bidding, right?"

"Indeed," Rosalie replied with an evil cackle.

"What are you two cackling about?" Alice asked as she walked in.

"We're going to do a little wedding planning tomorrow, Alice, want to join us?" Rosalie asked.

"Sure, I'm always up for some shopping," Alice replied giddily. "Hey, we can go to Marcella's bridal store in Seattle, they have all the top designers."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Rosalie said. "We're definitely going there."

"Don't we have to make an appointment?" I asked.

"Psh," Rose replied. "Rosalie Hale don't need no appointment."

Alice and I laughed as the doorbell rang once again. Wow, we never get this many visitors, not even on Christmas.

Emmett went to get the door and after a moment I heard him say, "What are you doing here?"

I left all the girls looking confused and worried in the kitchen and walked to the door. As I peered around my brother, I came face to face with Renee – my mom. She stood there with an armful of bags and a man standing behind her.

"Emmett? What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' I'm here to see my children."

"You haven't spent Christmas with us since the divorce, Renee – no, further than that; you ditched us as soon as you and Dad separated," Emmett said.

"I didn't ditch you, Emmett," Renee said. "It's just been…hard for me."

"It's been hard for everyone, but we didn't run away," Emmett was yelling now and I put my hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

"Bella? Is that my little girl? How are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine Re…Mom," I said quietly. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Bells."

"Bells, Em, who's at the door?" Charlie finally called as he walked through the foyer to stand behind me. "Oh, Renee, what's up? What are you doing here?"

Renee laughed, "I really wish people would stop asking me that. Can't I come and see my children when they're home from college?"

"Well, come on in, then," Charlie said, pulling Emmett back from the doorway. "Who's this?"

Renee handed the bags to the man behind her, "This is Phil, my fiancé. Phil, this is my son Emmett, my daughter Bella and my ex-husband Charlie."

"Hello," Phil said shyly, he gave all of us an apologetic look as he walked in and set the bags down in the TV room.

"Wow," Renee said. "This house is packed! Hello everyone!"

"Renee!" Sue called as she came in from the kitchen. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Sue, it's good to see you."

"Hello Renee," Billy said from his spot near the couch. "You look well."

"You too, Billy," Renee said. "And is this…this can't be Jacob! You're huge!"

"Yeah, I had a growth spurt a couple years ago," Jake said.

"Wait, aren't you two dating?" Renee asked as she turned to me.

"Not anymore, Mom," I said as I sat on the arm of the couch next to Edward. "This is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen."

"Well, hello Edward," Renee said in her best Fanny Brice impression.

"This is his family – his sister Alice, her boyfriend Jasper and Mr. and Mrs. Cullen are in the kitchen."

Esme walked out just then, "Hello, you must be Bella's mother Renee – I'm Esme Cullen."

"Hello," Renee said, sizing Esme up; Mom's not used to other women looking more fabulous than her.

"Hi Renee, I'm Rosalie – you've probably heard of me, I'm Emmett's girlfriend. Well, fiancé now."

"Yes, Rosalie," Renee said as she shook her hand, feeling even more insecure. "Wow, engaged? When did that happen?"

"Last night," Rose said. "But, we've been dating for almost three years."

"Well, congratulations," Renee replied. "Now, I have presents for my kids."

Phil handed Renee the bag with the word Bergdorf Goodman emblazoned on the front. "This is all for you, Bells. Phil and I went to New York over Thanksgiving and I found so many fabulous things for you."

"Thanks Mom," I said as I reached into the bag tentatively. I pulled out a black dress, the label read Dior, "Mom, this must have cost a fortune!"

"Nothing's too good for my baby," Renee replied.

I continued to fish through the designer clothes as Renee handed a bag to Emmett. "They have this gigantic Niketown out there, I hope you like it."

Emmett pulled out a pair of Air Force Ones that had his initials and his high school football jersey number on the heels. "Wow, thanks Renee…how did you remember…"

"I always loved watching you play football, Em," Renee said. "How could I forget number 45?"

Emmett gave her a weak smile then turned to me – I smiled back as Alice began getting squirmy beside me. "Bella! Come on, you've got Bergdorf goodness in that bag!"

I laughed and found a box that said Fendi on the top, I opened it to find a pair of purple, five-inch, t-strap pumps.

"Practical," I murmured to Edward who chuckled next to me.

"You. Mean. Fab-u-lous!" Alice said as she snatched the shoes out of my hands. "Oh, Bella! Tell me we're the same size!"

Alice checked the side of the box, "6 ½? Damn! You're a size and a half bigger than me!"

"Sorry, Al, but I'm sure you can borrow any of the clothes you want, we're about the same size, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Alice asked, "With those gigantic boobs? I don't think so Bells."

Everybody started laughing as I blushed as Alice's assessment of my bust size. Edward leaned over and kissed near my ear before whispering, "She's just jealous. You have perfect breasts, Angel."

I blushed even deeper and leaned my head into the crook of his neck. I glanced at Renee, who was gazing at Edward with a worried look. Great, another parent who's going to give my boyfriend a hard time.

"So, Alice, Bella and I are going to Seattle tomorrow to look at wedding stuff," Rosalie said. "Renee, Esme, Sue, do you want to go? Leah?"

"I'd love to," Esme said.

"Me too," Renee replied. "I guess I'm going to have to find a mother of the groom dress. Do you have anything you'd like me to wear, Rosalie?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I haven't even come up with colors yet. I guess we'll figure it out tomorrow."

"Who's your maid-of-honor?" Renee asked.

"Bells."

Renee gave me a bright smile, "Well, how about that?"

**EPOV**

Renee was really something. Apparently she was going to marry this Phil guy – a plastic surgeon from Seattle – next March. She wanted Bella to be part of the wedding, which would be in Monterey, so Renee was willing to schedule the wedding around Bella's Spring Break.

Bella, Mom and Sue were back in the kitchen making dinner. Everyone else was in the TV room watching a movie, but I didn't feel right sitting there while my Bella was slaving away for my benefit. I walked into the kitchen to find Mom and Bella placing a row of pizza rolls on a baking pan.

"Ha, so this is your definition of Christmas dinner?" I asked as I kissed Bella on the cheek.

"This is the Swan way," Bella said. "We have a big, fancy dinner on Christmas Eve, a big breakfast Christmas morning and then just appetizer stuff for Christmas dinner."

"Who started this tradition?" I asked.

"Me," Bella laughed. "I'm the one who cooks around here – do you think I want to make that many huge dinners?"

"Fair enough," I said. "Anyway, at least this is something I can help you fix."

"True," Mom said. "Why don't you put out some chips and salsa for everyone to snack on before everything else is ready?"

"Will do," I said as I pulled a bag of tortilla chips out of the cabinet.

I put them in a bowl and grabbed the jar of salsa out of the fridge. I poured the salsa into a smaller bowl and took both out to set it one the coffee table in the TV room.  
"Thanks sugar," Emmett teased as he grabbed a chip.

I playfully smacked him the head before walking back into the kitchen. Renee followed me in.

"Did Charlie pick up any adult beverages?" She asked as she rummaged through the fridge. She pulled out a beer and popped it open. "This will have to do."

She sipped the drink and turned to me, "So, Edward, what are you studying?"

"I'm pre-med," I replied.

"Wow, that's impressive. What year are you?"

"I'm a junior."

"So you're…20…21?"

"21."

"Nice," she said as she ran her finger around the rim of the beer can. "So, where are you going to go to med school?"

"Haven't decided yet," I said. "I'll apply next year."

"Where would you like to go?"

"Well," I said. "My dad went to U-dub – I would have a good chance of getting in there."

"You know, a friend of mine from school went to Duke's medical school," she said. "I imagine that would be, like, Valhalla for pre-meds, huh?"

"Actually, John Hopkins is generally considered the end all, be all of med schools. But, yeah, Duke is very good as well."

"John Hopkins…where's that?" Renee asked.

"Maryland," Bella responded, sounding a little annoyed.

"Huh, that'd be really cool, wouldn't it Edward?" Renee asked.

"Nah," I said, winking at Bella. "I'll stick with U-dub."

Renee sipped her beer and shrugged, "'S your choice, I guess."

After dinner, we all started to turn in – the Clearwaters and Blacks went home, my parents went back into the formal living room and Phil was trying to usher Renee to their hotel room. But, Renee lingered to talk to Bella just outside the door – I couldn't help myself, I listened through a nearby window.

"So, that Edward is one good-looking boy, Bells. Well, man, actually – he's definitely not a boy anymore."

"No, he's not," Bella replied. "And, I'm not a girl anymore, either."

There was a moment of silence before Renee hissed, "Bella! Have you been having sex with that boy?"

"Yes," Bella replied simply.

"You are only 18, Bella!"  
"I'm 19, Renee, thanks for remembering my birthday, by the way."

"Don't take that tone with me," Renee said. "You know what I mean. He's a very experienced young man, and he's probably getting to the point where he's looking for a very serious girlfriend – a girl he'll marry someday."

"Yes, he is."

"And are you ready to be that girl?"

"Yes, I am."

"Bella, be serious. You're not ready to get married."  
"No, not right now," Bella said. "But, I will be in a few years. And, by then, Edward will be finished with med school and we'll be more prepared to settle down."

"But…"

"Re…Mom, please. I appreciate your concern, but I'd really rather not talk about this right now. Can we do it later?"

"OK," Renee said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Babygirl."

"You haven't called me that in forever, Mom."

"I know, and I'm sorry I've missed so much. I promise to be better in the future."

"Thanks Mom," Bella said. "See you tomorrow."

I hurried back into the TV room before Bella caught me eavesdropping and sat on the couch next to Jasper. Bella came in and I pulled her into my lap. I held her close to me and kissed the side of her neck.

Bella and Alice pulled out the sofa bed for them to sleep on. But eventually, Alice and Jasper ended up on the floor with the two sleeping bags spread out beneath them, and I was with Bella. I curled myself around her as I dreamt about her – she was bathed in brilliant, white light and wearing a long dress to match. She looked up at me and smiled – her face haloed by her soft, dark hair. She was just about to kiss me when I woke up.

**BPOV**

Since there was now five of us, we took Emmett's Jeep to Seattle. We got to Marcella's around 11 a.m. and Rosalie immediately walked up to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm getting married next June and I need to start figuring out what I want to do," she said.

The front desk girl sneered at all of us and sighed haughtily, "You have to make an appointment."

"I don't think you heard me," Rose said. "I'm Rosalie Hale, and I'm getting married? Now, which one of you is going to help me today."

The girl was about to reply when a manager walked up, "Hale? As in Joseph Hale, owner of Hale Industries?"

Rosalie just cocked an eyebrow at the woman and the manager turned to the front desk girl, "Marcy, will you please show these ladies to the show room?"

"But, they don't have an appointment," the girl protested.

"They don't need one," the manager hissed, "Just do it!"

Marcy took us to a large room in the back of the store and sat us down around a table.  
"Sorry about the mix up," she said sheepishly. "Theresa will be with you soon. Can I get you ladies anything?"

"Not right now, you may go," Rosalie said dismissively.

The girl tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back her hateful glare as she turned and closed the door behind her. Rosalie smirked after her then turned and waggled her eyebrows at me. Suddenly, the doors opened and the manager from before walked in with an armload of catalogs. She spread them across the table and began to greet us, "Hello ladies, I'm Theresa and I'll be helping you today. So, Miss Hale, I assume you will be the blushing bride."

"That's right," Rose replied. "I just got engaged the other day and I'm not really sure what I want to do yet, so I'm hoping I can get some ideas today."

"Well, why don't we start with dresses?" Theresa said. "What kind of dress have you always dreamed of?"

"Definitely mermaid style."

"Oh perfect for a woman with your amazing figure."

I rolled my eyes; this woman is laying it on thick. But, I have to admit that that's not a bad way to sway Rosalie. She showed us a whole book full of the style Rose wanted – I could just imagine all 5' 9" and 120 pounds of Rosalie parading around in one of these dresses.

Theresa had some assistants bring out coffee and an assortment of pastries while we poured over all the dresses. Theresa walked out into the showroom and picked out a few of the dresses that Rosalie liked. After a while, I noticed Renee had slipped out, too. I walked out and found her browsing through the bridesmaid section.

"Oh Bella, this will look so beautiful on you," she said as she pulled out a long, strapless, lavender dress.

"I don't know Mom; with boobs like mine I'm not too keen on the strapless dresses."

"OK, how about this?" It was also long, but had a v-neck and was a natural beige color.

"That's nice," I said. "Hey, why don't you and I go shopping for you next week, we'll pick out my bridesmaid dress then, OK?"

"Great! I'm getting my dress from a place called Voletta Couture in Bellevue, and I found this Badgely Mischka dress that's absolutely perfect!"

"Great."

"Hey Bells!" Rosalie called. "Come see how good I look."

"Be right there, Ron Burgundy."

**OK, I'm stopping this chapter here, because I want new years to be a whole different chapter. **

**How does everyone like Renee? A bit shallow, but not too bitchy, right?**


	15. Chapter 15

**EPOV **

My parents invited Bella's family – including Renee and Phil – to Seattle for New Years. And, because Bella had painstakingly made certain my Christmas was special, I was determined to one-up her on this.

My parents own another house just off the Puget Sound, and I was planning on sneaking Bella out to it as soon as the clock struck midnight. I just hoped that Charlie and Renee wouldn't notice.

Mom was busy making mores hors d'oevres than I had ever seen in my life – mini quiches and a plethora of strange looking goop that was meant to be placed on crackers. She even got a fresh jar of caviar.

"Mom, I love you but this may not be the type of food the Swan's are used to," I said as I dipped my finger in some grey stuff and tasted it – it was awful.

"Edward, they're not unsophisticated clods – they'll like this food," she said as she slapped my hand away from grabbing a quiche. "Just because you and your father don't appreciate caviar doesn't mean other people won't."

"Can we at least have something a little less hoity-toity?" I asked. "I'm sure Charlie would like some buffalo wings or something."

Mom turned and gave me an annoyed glare, but shrugged and said, "Sure, get some wings or something."

My dad was right behind me in a second, "I'll drive, I think we need some other necessities."

"Necessities? Like what?"

"Some beer," Dad replied as we grabbed Jasper, Emmett and Charlie and hurried out the door before my mom could yell at us.

Rose and Alice had dragged Bella out shopping so she wouldn't spend all day in the kitchen with Mom. Renee, needless to say, tagged along so she wouldn't get wrangled into helping somehow. Phil had excused himself to go to the gym.

We ventured out to the closest Safeway and Emmett, Jasper and I went to find some chicken wings that were to Emmett's liking. We were still pondering spicy bar-b-que versus Buffalo style when Charlie and Dad showed up with a 24-pack of Budweiser.

"Haven't decided yet?" Charlie asked.

"No," Emmett said. "We can't decide between the bar-b-que or the Buffalo."

"Just get both," Dad said. "They'll get eaten amongst six men, I think."

"And believe me, Bella could put a few away," Charlie laughed.

Emmett grabbed both bags and we made our way up to pay for everything.

The girls had returned once we got back, Alice was rushing Bella upstairs before I had a chance to get a kiss hello.

"Al, can I talk to my girlfriend please?"

"No, she'll be downstairs when I'm done with her," Alice said.

"What are you going to do? It's not like you can make her any more beautiful than she already is – that's physically impossible."

"No, not more beautiful, just more glamorous."

"But I don't want glamorous!" I whined.

It was too late; Bella was safely in Alice's room so my sister and Rosalie could inflict pain on my Angel. I went up to my room to change – if Bella was going to be dressed up, the least I could so would be to put a nicer shirt on.

**BPOV**

Alice and Rosalie took me to the Westfield Southcenter for some shopping. I am often amazed at the capacity some people have for this type of activity. Certainly this must be some sort of disorder – chronic shopping.

My mom came along and did her usual bit about buying me clothes that I'd never wear. They took me to Forever 21, and I had to admit that some of the stuff was truly cute. And it surprised me that it wasn't all a bunch of designer duds. It was all reasonably priced.

I tried on all of the dresses that Alice passed to me and decided upon a brown, satin tube dress.

Alice quickly dragged me to a different store while Rosalie paid for my dress. I was surprised by how strong Alice is for such a tiny little thing. She spun me around and pushed me into the store she had pulled me to – Victoria's Secret.

"No!" I said.

"Yes, you're going in; your collection of bras and panties are more suited for a grandma than a 19-year-old girl."

I crossed my arms and attempted to hold my ground, but I realized I didn't have a leg to stand on. Alice was right – I'm a fan of the comfy undies and bras with no underwires.

I walked in shyly and followed Alice to where a series of bustiers hung.

"Hey," I said. "I thought you said bra and panties, not this."

"This is a bra," she said. "And when Edward sees you in it, you're going to thank me."

"No offense, I'm really not comfortable discussing that with my boyfriend's sister."

"Calm down, it's not like I don't know that you two have had sex."

"What, did he tell you?"

"No, I just connected the dots, Bella," she said. "The way you two look at each other, touch each other – it's pretty obvious."

I eyed her suspiciously before I grabbed a polka dot bustier, "I'll start with this one."

"OK, go back and I'll find some more for you."

I tried on a few things but didn't find anything I liked. Renee and Rosalie came in with some Starbucks as I was showing Alice a pink bustier with garters. Renee gave me a look I couldn't quite pinpoint, "What's that, Bells?"

"A bustier, Mom."

"Huh, you don't really want to get that, do you?"

I felt my face getting hot, was my mom giving me a hard time for getting a piece of lingerie? Was she going to treat me like a child – like Charlie does?

"I don't know, Mom."

"Sweetie, I know this place nearby where you can get much better lingerie than this," she said – my head shot up and my jaw almost hit the floor. "They have really nice stuff, nicer than this. I mean, if you want to impress a guy like Edward, you'll want something really nice, right?"

"Y…yeah, Mom; thanks!"

We left the mall and drove to a store called Nancy Meyer. Renee was right – this lingerie was much better than Victoria's Secret.

"Oh, here Bells," Renee said. "This is perfect."

It was a corset with garters hanging off the bottom – delicate, dark red lace, with matching boyshort panties.

"Put those on while I find you some thigh highs, sweetie," Renee said.

"OK," I said quietly.

I put everything on – though it was weird to put the boyshorts over my own panties – but I found it all to be very alluring. It was sexy, but not in a smutty way. I was admiring myself when Renee knocked on the door again.

"Sweetie, how does it look?"

I opened the door just enough to let her see and she gasped. "Bella, that's incredible!"

"Let me see," Alice said from behind Renee who moved out of the way. "Whoa momma! That's hot!"

"Thank you, Alice."

"That is hot, Bells," Rosalie said. "If Emmett saw you right now, he'd have a coronary while punching a hole through a wall."

"Not to mention Charlie," Renee added.

I laughed and retreated back into the dressing room to take off the lingerie. Renee took it from me and went to pay for it – but not without a fight from me.

"Mom, you've bought me so much already! You got me Christian Louboutin shoes, for crying out loud!"

"Bells, this is probably not something you can swing," Renee said. "Did you read the price tags?"

She handed me the corset and I saw that that one piece alone cost almost 500.

"OK," I said, my voice breaking slightly. "You go ahead then."

We paid and were on our way home. We had just pulled in when Edward and the rest of the boys parked behind us. I wanted to wait outside and get a kiss and hug from Edward, but Alice pushed me through the door.

"Come on, Bella, up the stairs."

"Hey, quit shoving, I want to see Edward."

"Nope," she said, "Not until you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

Before Alice could respond, Edward was through the door trying to get to me.

"Al, can I talk to my girlfriend please?" He said.

"No, she'll be downstairs when I'm done with her," Alice said.

"What are you going to do?" He asked. "It's not like you can make her any more beautiful than she already is – that's physically impossible."

I smiled down on him, but Alice began pushing me towards her room again.

"No, not more beautiful, just more glamorous."

"But I don't want glamorous!" He called as I was finally closed in Alice's room.

"You're a devil pixie!" I whined as Alice began to get out all of her beauty/torture devises.

"That's going on my tombstone," she smirked.

First she flat ironed my hair, and then she curled it.

"What was the point of that?" I asked.

"The flatiron makes the hair shiny," she said. "And the curl makes you look adorable."

I scowled at her while she put some kind of pomade through my hair so that the curls shined even more. I had to admit, it looked lovely – though I'm not sure how Edward's going to run his hands through it later.

Rosalie started on my makeup; she took a deep blue eye shadow and applied it just around my lash line, and then covered my lid in a bright gold. She wouldn't let me see, so I was afraid I was going to look like a clown as I looked at the colors she was using. But, as she turned me around I saw that it was more subtle than I thought it would be.

It was glamorous, but not overly made up.

"OK, get your unmentionables and your dress on," Alice said as she began to put on her own makeup.

I put on the corset and the panties; Rosalie helped me pull up the stockings and hook them to the garters. I pulled the dress up and zipped it when I turned to Alice with a hint of panic on my face.

"Al, what shoes am I supposed to wear? I can't fit into your shoes."

"Bella, this is me we're talking about here," she replied. "I planned ahead."

She went over to my bag and pulled out the black Christian Louboutin pumps my mom had given me.

"When did you slip those in there?"

"When you went to the bathroom before we left this morning."

"Devil pixie," I murmured as I put the shoes on.

We walked down stairs – I traveled at a snails pace because of the shoes – and I found Edward at the foot of the stairs waiting for me.

"How long have you been waiting there?" Alice asked as she past him.

"Since he came downstairs after changing," Jasper called from the living room.

"Well, if anybody else was ever interesting to be around, maybe I wouldn't have to wait around stairwells," Edward quipped as he took me hand and helped me down the last few steps.

"And our earlier attempts at a greeting were thwarted by the devil pixie," I said.

"Devil pixie?" Edward laughed. "I love it! I'm using that sometime."

We sat down in the living room as Esme brought in a tray of mini-quiches. We all sat for the next few hours talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. Before I knew it, it was 11:50 p.m.

"Hey, turn it to Dick Clark," Dad called. "The ball's gonna drop in ten minutes."

Emmett and Jasper looked at each other and giggled like 12-year-olds.

"Shut up you juvenile idiots," Rosalie said as she slapped Emmett in the back of the head.

We watched all of the b-list celebrities running around, acting like they were having the time of their lives. Esme began to pour champagne into flutes as the clock read 11:59, and I stood to help her pass them out. I took mine and ignored the disapproving looks of my parents as I sat down next to Edward to count down the last 10 seconds of 2008.

"…5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" Everybody yelled in unison.

Edward and I tapped our glasses together before we each took a sip of champagne. He took my glass from me and set it to the side.

"Hey, I haven't finished that!" I laughed.

"You will, but I need to do this now," he replied as he kissed me deeply.

I leaned into the kiss and we started to get more into it when someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Renee there, "Happy New Year, Babygirl."

She held out her glass for me to toast and Edward passed mine back to me. We tapped our glasses and I went to take a sip. As my mom left, I turned back to Edward who watched her go with a withering glare.

"She means well," I explained. "She's at least more OK with you than Charlie."

He smirked at me and looked back over to where everyone was culminating in the kitchen. He gave me a meaningful look and jerked his head slightly in the direction of the front door.

"Wh..?" I began but he silenced me with a kiss and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Head out towards the car as quietly as you can, I'll tell you when we're out there."

I didn't argue, just slid off my shoes and got up slowly. I held the pumps until I got outside. I put them back on and made my way to the Volvo and waited for Edward to join me.

I ran my hand up and down my arms to warm them up, suddenly realizing it was about 30 degrees outside. He frowned and opened my door so I could get in, and then opened the back door and pulled something out. He placed a coat in my lap before he gently closed the door.

"OK, so where are we going?" I asked as he started the car.

"You'll see," he replied.

**EPOV**

Somehow, we got out of the house without anyone noticing – mostly because Emmett was regaling them with stories of New Years' past when he, Jasper and I were up to our usual shenanigans.

I slipped out and turned out see my angel standing against my car waiting for me. That dress should be illegal – and the way the moonlight shone off of her skin made it glow. Although, she started to rub her arms like she was cold – so I grabbed her a coat for our journey.

It took about 15 minutes to get to the house. I helped Bella out of the car and she gazed at the house in awe, "Where are we?"

"This is our other house," I said. "My dad bought this for Mom's 40th birthday."

She shook her head slightly and smiled at me. "Geez, you Cullens are something else."

"Yes we are, but not as much as you Swans."

"Touché."

We got inside and I lifted Bella into my arms; I ran upstairs, nervous that we might be interrupted and anxious to make love to her since our little sexual dry spell began. I placed her on my parent's bed and got those ridiculous shoes off of her – I don't know who's worse in the fashion torture department: Renee or Alice.

I reached to unzip her cute little dress but she stopped me, "No, let me do it."

She moved back and knelt on the bed as she reached back and unzipped the dress. She lifted it over her head and threw it to the side and that's when I saw it – my sweet Angel in a red corset with matching panties. My knees almost buckled underneath me.

"That…that is…where did you get that?"

"Lingerie Fairy," she smirked. "But, it's getting kind of itchy. Will you take it off of me?"

I had to stop myself from lunging across the bed at her. I sauntered around and brushed her hair off of her shoulders before kissing from one shoulder to the next. I reached around her and began to unhook the front of the corset.

She leaned her head back against my shoulder as I got the garment all the way off of her. My hands trailed up her stomach and grasped each breast, massaging them gently. She moved back so her backside was pressed against my erection. She wiggled her hips and her cute, round, little ass brushed across the front of my jeans.

I grunted low in my throat and turned her so she was lying on her back. She proped herself up on her elbows as I took her left leg in my hand and kissed my way down to the clasp that held the stocking on. I unclasped it and slowly pulled it off, kissing my way in the other direction. I repeated the process on her other leg and stood gazing at her as she lay there clad only in the red, lacy panties.

She gazed back at me under hooded eye lids and I leaned forward to kiss her sweet, pouty lips. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I smiled against her lips. I pulled the panties off of her and threw them with the rest of her discarded clothing.

I was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Wait, turn around."

Her eyebrows pulled together as she beheld me, "What?"

"Trust me."

As she turned so she was on her hands and knees, I ridded myself of my clothing so fast I was surprised I didn't rip anything. I found a condom in my wallet and rolled it one as she looked back at me quizzically – I moved her so we could both get onto the bed and positioned myself behind her.

I ran my index finger from her clit to her opening and dipped it into her. She moaned softly as I stroked. I removed my finger and ran the tip of my cock up and down her wet slit repeatedly. She was pressing her backside closer to me and moaning a little bit louder now.

"Ready Angel?"

"Yes," she moaned. "Please Lover, make love to me."

"As you wish."

I plunged into her and grasped her hips. She pulled away from me slightly and I steadied her with my hands.

"Does it hurt, Angel?"

"No, it's just…different."

"Don't worry," I whispered as I leaned over her back and placed one arm around her waist. "I'll never hurt you."

I quickened my pace and she started in on her whimpering phase where her breathing became labored. I bit my lip and continued my thrusting, it was amazing how much tighter she was from this angle – and she was already nice and tight to begin with.

"Edward," she panted, "It…feels…so…good!"

"You should feel what I'm feeling, Angel," I replied with a slight laugh. "It's indescribable."

She started to cum and I grabbed a hold of her hand with my free hand as I felt that incredible wave of pleasure overtake me. We both collapsed onto the bed once we were spent. I rolled over and pulled her close to me. "Happy New Years, Angel."

"This is going to be a great year," she said as she reached up to kiss me.

"Mmmm, indeed my love; best year of my life, I'd wager."

I deepened the kiss as I could tell we were both headed towards another round when my cell phone started to ring. I could have sworn I put that on vibrate.

"Just ignore it," she said against my lips.

"If it's one of our parents, they're going to be upset if we ignore them," I said.

"Well, I think they've already guessed what we're up to," she said. "So, I think ignoring a phone call is the least of our problems at this point."

"Huh…good point."

I rolled so I hovered over Bella and we made love again. We went slowly this time – it took about an hour – but we made sure we both brought the other to a nice, long climax. I fell asleep nestled in Bella's wonderful breasts. My phone rang about five times throughout the night; I tried not to think of the shit storm that was most likely waiting for me at home.


	16. Chapter 16

**BPOV **

I woke up to the sound of waves splashing outside and it took me a moment to figure out where I was—Edward's family's second home. We must be right off of Puget Sound, though I would have never been able to guess that last night. Nor did I care—I was truly alone with Edward for the first time in almost two weeks.

Of course, that alone time wasn't about to come without some serious repercussions. We had snuck out and made our way here without telling anyone. And while the need for secrecy was great, that wouldn't stop either his parents or mine from flying off the handle at our deception.

I was just hoping Emmett would be there to hold Dad back if he tries to kill Edward.

I suddenly realized I was alone in the bed and heard a loud crash from downstairs. Edward must be trying to cook something for breakfast. I got up and found his shirt from last night still on the floor. I buttoned it up and walked downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, I couldn't see Edward anywhere. I walked around the counter and saw him on his hands and knees, picking up some pots and pans off of the floor.

"Need some help?" I asked, startling him.

"Ah! God, don't do that," he laughed. "No, thank you, I don't need help because I'm making you breakfast this morning. You just march back upstairs and get some more sleep; I'll bring it up when I'm done."

"No," I said. "I want to stay here and watch you in action."

Before he could protest, I kissed him softly and then jumped up on the counter to watch him cook.

"So, what's on the menu for today, Mario Batali?" I asked.

"I'd like to think of myself as more of a Jamie Oliver type," he quipped. "And I'm making crepes."

"Wow, fancy," I said as I took a strawberry from the bowl next to me and popped it in my mouth.

"Hey, no eating the filling," he laughed as he stood in front of me and kissed me.

His hand rested gently on my knee and he began to slowly trail it upwards.

"If we get too into this, you're never going to get breakfast done," I said between kisses.

"I'd rather have you for breakfast," he countered.

That was good enough for me. I wrapped my legs around him and brought us closer together. I could already feel his erection pressed against me and I smiled as we continued kissing. His lips began to wander, first finding their way to my neck and then to my collarbone as he unbuttoned the shirt I was wearing.

"As much as I love you in my shirt," he said, "I'm afraid it's going to have to go."

"If you think that's best," I replied.

He slipped the shirt off of my shoulders and let it drop haphazardly down to the counter. I returned my arms to his neck and he began to push his boxers down his legs. I pulled away and gazed down briefly at his arousal.

"Wait," I said. "We don't have any protection."

He swore softly under his breath, "Hang on, I'll be right back."

"Actually, you should probably stay where you are, son, or else we're going to see a lot more of Bella than we had ever planned."

It was Carlisle.

I looked over Edward's shoulder to find both of our parents standing in the doorway from the garage.

"Oh my god!" I hissed in a low voice. "Our parents are here!"

Edward gingerly reached behind me and pulled the shirt back over my shoulders. I put my arms through the sleeves and quickly buttoned it up while Edward reached down and pulled his boxers back up.

I didn't dare look up because I knew what I would see—Renee would be giving me her pseudo-motherly look of disapproval and Dad would look like his urge to kill was through the roof. And I really didn't want to face Edward's parents. What would they think of the girl they caught naked on their kitchen counter?

I'll tell you what they'd think: Whore.

And certainly not good enough for their son.

"When you didn't answer your phone we got worried, darling," Esme said quietly. "So, we decided to come see if you were here."

"Well, you found us," Edward joked, trying to lighten the mood—it didn't work.

"What do you two think you're doing, leaving without telling anybody?" Dad asked trying not to explode. "And coming here to do—God only knows what?"

"Having sex, Charlie," Renee said. "Looks like our little girl is all grown up."

I finally raised my eyes to meet my mother's stare and she didn't look as mad as I thought she would. In fact, she had an expression I couldn't really describe—it was almost a mixture of admiration and wistfulness.

"She's 19, she's still a child," Dad spat back.

"She's really not, Charlie," Carlisle countered.

"We were married at 18, Charlie," Renee reminded him. "So, following that line of reasoning, Bella is definitely no child anymore."

"Enough!" Dad shouted. "Bella, get dressed so we can get your stuff and go back to Forks."

"No," I said—I was trying to sound firm and resolute, but I think it just came out as whiney. "I'm staying with Edward until it's time to go back to school."

"Oh no you're not!"

"Dad, you can't keep me your little girl forever," I said. "I'm moving on now—it feels right to me. And, I'm sorry that it doesn't to you, but I can't help that. I just have to do what's best for me now, and that would be staying with Edward."

"He's changing you, and I don't like this change in you, Bella," Dad said as he approached us. "You weren't like this when you were with Jacob."

"I wasn't happy, either," I said. "I may have thought I was at first, but I was fooling myself. I was never in love with Jacob, Dad; I know that now."

"This isn't love, Bella" he countered. "This is lust, and you're just deluding yourself if you think it's any different."

"I think we should all go back to the house to have a little discussion," Carlisle said, placing a soothing hand on Dad's shoulder.

"There's nothing to discuss," Dad said.

"There is, Charlie," Renee said.

"No, I don't want to hear any of this," Dad said, backing away from everybody—he turned to me. "You want to stay with him? Fine, stay with him and his family. But don't come crawling back to me when he breaks your heart, because I told you it would happen."

He turned and stormed out.

"Daddy, please don't go!" I cried as I jumped off the counter after him.

I followed him out into the freezing January wind, still clad only in Edward's shirt, and watched him get in his cruiser and drive off. I dropped to my knees and bawled. Was my relationship with Edward really worth destroying the relationship with my father?

A pair of strong arms lifted me up and I wrapped my own around Edward's neck. I buried my head into his chest and let the tears flow down like they never had before—not when my Grandma Swan died, not when my parents broke up, not when Renee forgot my 18th birthday.

I've never cried like this. It was like I was releasing 19 years of pent up emotions in one hour of blubbering. And I still didn't feel any better when it stopped.

Edward had carried me back upstairs and let me cry myself to sleep in the bed as he kept me safely in his arms. I woke up to find him sleeping next to me and I brushed his hair gently out of his face. He is so beautiful, I thought to myself, and I really am in love with him. Dad had to be wrong, this isn't lust, this is love. He's not just my boyfriend, he's my best friend. And I know that I'm going to marry him some day.

He began to nuzzle my hand gently while his eyes opened to gaze at me lovingly.

"How do you feel, Angel?"

"I'm OK," I said. "I'm not a hundred percent better, but I think I will be in a little while."

His hands found my face and he pulled me in for a quick kiss before I nestled my head into his chest and just enjoyed our moment alone. I still couldn't believe I just got caught almost having sex on my boyfriend's parent's kitchen counter, though.

Speaking of which, "Where are your parents and Renee?"

"They caught a cab back to the house," he said. "They said come back when you're ready."

"I think I'm ready now," I replied. "I could use a shower."

"How about a bath?"

"Even better."

"Well, the tub here is about ten times better than the one at the other house," he said as he stood up from the bed carrying me with him.

He brought me into the bathroom and stopped at a door next to the toilet.

"So there's a bathtub on the other side of this, huh?"

"Yes," he said. "My mom had this put in a year after they bought it."

On the other side of the door was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen—a gigantic bathtub, more like a Jacuzzi, really. The entire room was covered in elaborate tile and there was a sliding glass door that took over nearly the entire left wall of the room. The glass was facing Puget Sound, and it wasn't until then that I realized what an amazing view they had.

"Wow," I breathed as Edward set me on the ground and went over to the farthest wall.

He opened a tiny, hidden door in the wall and turned a knob. Suddenly, a cascade of water came down from a wide opening in the side of the tub. If I had to guess, I'd say this Jacuzzi could fit about six people, easily.

I turned to enjoy more of the view as Edward came to stand behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder as he watched the waves crash against the shore just yards away from where we were standing.

"You know," he began, "This is where I'll probably be staying when I come to medical school."

"Oh really," I said as I turned to kiss him just below his ear.

"Yeah, it's close enough to U-dub that I won't have to commute, but I won't have to stay with my parents either," he said. "They don't want me to have to pay for an apartment when I'm just starting my graduate schedule."

"That's nice of them," I said.

"Mm-hmm," he agreed. "And now you know where to visit when you come from Pullman."

I stood rigid for a moment, I hadn't really thought about that. I'd still have two more years at State when he started med school. We'd be five hours apart for most of the year then. I didn't want that.

"Bella? Angel, what's wrong?"

"I don't want us to be separated," I said, the childish voice returning.

"I don't want that either," he said. "But, we'll be going to different schools. We'll make the most of it."

"No," I said as I turned to face him, "I don't want to make the most of it. I don't want to be separated from you—ever!"

"But, what can we do?"

"I...I...I'll transfer," I said. "That's it; I'll transfer to U-dub. People do it all the time."

"But, you didn't want to go to U-dub."

"I do if you're there."

"Bella," he said taking my hands in his, "I don't want you to change your whole world for me."

"I'm not," I said. "I can still do everything I want to do. I'm sure there's an excellent photography program at U-dub."

"But..."

I put my hand to his lips to silence him, "Stop arguing with me. I'm going to do this."

He smiled against my fingers and brought his hand up to grasp my wrist. He placed a kiss on my palm and then put it against his cheek.

"If you think that's best," he said. "I do want you here, make no mistake about that. I just feel like a selfish bastard for making you move for me."

"Well, you're not a selfish bastard because you're not making me do anything," I countered. "This is what I want. So, really, I'm being selfish here. I couldn't stand Pullman if you weren't there."

He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before turning to check on the water in the tub. It was getting to the stopping point, so Edward walked over to the wall to shut the faucet off. I removed the shirt and dipped a toe into the water, it was perfect. I was about to step in when Edward swept me back up into his arms and walked me in himself.

He sat me on one of the seats in the tub, and took the one across from me. I wasn't having any of that—I practically jumped across the tub and into his lap.

"This is much better," I said.

**EPOV**

Bella really does sacrifice too much for me. She hardly hangs out with any of the Sig Kaps or any of her other friends because I can't stand to be without her; she allowed me to be the first man to make love to her and she agreed to marry me—some day, at least.

No matter how much she tried to make me feel better, I still couldn't help but feel like a complete bastard for wanting her to follow me back to Seattle. It was a conundrum, indeed—I never wanted her to leave my side, but I wanted her to follow her dreams. And, initially, her dreams didn't include going to school in Seattle.

We made our way back to the house after taking a long, leisurely bath and Bella was immediately snatched up by Renee and Rosalie who claimed they wanted to talk to Bella in private. I tried to protest, but my dad came along and put a hand on my shoulder, "Actually, son, I'd like to talk to you for a bit as well."

I gave him a suspicious look but followed him down to the basement anyway. He had the pool table already set up and he went to the bar to fix us both a glass of scotch. I took mine and sipped it, still bracing myself for whatever uncomfortable lecture he was about to put me through.

"You break," he said as he passed me a pool cue.

I took it and rubbed a bit of chalk into the tip before walking to the far side of the table and lining up the cue ball where I wanted it. I bent over and slowly moved the stick back and forth through my fingers before striking the little white ball and sending the others scattering. The 14-ball found its way into the left corner pocket.

"I guess I'm stripes then," I said as Dad sipped his scotch and nodded.

"So, how is Bella feeling after all of the drama today?" Dad asked, he tried to sound nonchalant but I could tell he was really worried about her.

"She's better, but she's still upset," I said as I sized up the 12-ball near the right side pocket. "She would like me to believe she's OK with cutting Charlie out of her life, but she's devastated. He's been her world for so long."

I knocked the 12-ball in and moved for the 15, "I'm going to win this game before you even get a chance to shoot, old man."

Dad chuckled and took another sip, is he trying to loosen himself up to give me some kind of sex talk? God I hope not.

"You really love that girl, don't you?"

The question came suddenly and it startled me so much that I missed my shot.

I stood up straight and looked at him, "Yes, I do."

He nodded again, "It's not like I couldn't really tell before, I just thought I'd confirm it. I've seen the way you look at her and heard the way you talk about her. You're completely lost."

"Since the first time I met her," I laughed remembering that night.

Dad tilted his head to the side and smiled at me, "And she's lost, too." He set his drink down and moved to take his own shot. He sized up the 7-ball and knocked it into the left corner.

"So, what are you two going to do after you graduate from State?" Jesus, it was almost like Dad could read my mind sometimes.

"We were just discussing that earlier, actually," I said as I sipped my own scotch. "Bella is going to transfer to U-dub with me."

"So, you've decided completely on U-dub for med school?" He couldn't disguise the triumph in his voice—he'd always wanted me to go to his old Alma Mater.

"If I get to stay in the same state as Bella, then yes."

He aimed for the 4-ball, but just missed. "Well, then I have to thank Bella, don't I?"

I rolled my eyes and took my cue up again. This time, I knocked the 15-ball in without any trouble. I put some more chalk on the end and saw that Dad was giving me that quizzical look again.

"You...you two are being careful, right?" He asked.

Shit, he is coming with the sex talk. "Yes, we always use protection."

"Is Bella on the pill?"

I stopped mid-stroke and realized I'd never asked her about that, "I don't think so."

"She should probably think about it," he said. "In fact, I could take her in tomorrow to have some blood work done so she can get a prescription."

That's one thing about having a doctor for a dad, he never thinks about how awkward a conversation might be while he's in his clinical mode.

"I'll ask her later," I said quietly.

"Good—so next time you two find yourselves on a kitchen counter, you won't have anything to worry about."

I missed my shot again, "Aw, Dad! Come on!"

He started laughing his ass off as he picked up his own cue and took another shot.

**BPOV**

As soon as I walked through the door, Renee and Rosalie had me by each arm and were dragging me up to Alice's room.

"Hey! You know, I'm really tired of being pushed around here!" I whined.

"Quiet Bells, this is important!" Renee chided as they sat me on Alice's bed.

"What's so important?" I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

Renee was about to shut the door when Esme walked up. "Um, I don't suppose I could join you ladies, could I?"

"Sure Esme," Rosalie responded. "This concerns people you love, too."

Everyone sat around me and I felt like the walls were closing in—this must be what it feels like to have an intervention. Four pairs of eyes gazed at me with varied expressions – concern, reassurance and a hint of panic (the last of which came from Renee).

"Bells," Renee began, "You've been...having relations with Edward for sometime now, right?"

"A few months, I guess," I said—crap, this is going to get uncomfortable.

"And you two are being careful, right?" Rosalie asked as she stared me down from her chair.

"Yes."

"What kind of protection do you use, Bella?" Renee asked.

"Uh...Edward always wears a condom," I said quietly—I can't believe my mom just asked me that.

"Well, maybe it's time you thought of something else," Rosalie said as she stood up and sat next to me. "I mean, we're glad you're remembering to use a condom, but you should try to be even more careful."

"How?" I asked as I started to feel my throat go dry.

"Birth control pills, Bella," Renee said. "Especially with as serious as you two are getting, it's something to consider heavily. It's more reliable than a condom, and you don't want a baby on your hands at your age."

"I guess I should look into it, then," I admitted. "I'll make a doctor's appointment as soon as I get back to school."

"Carlisle could do it," Esme said. "He could take you in tomorrow and get you a prescription before you even head back to school."

"Oh, that's OK," I said, weirded out by the idea of my boyfriend's day giving me any kind of exam or knowing that I was on the pill.

"Really, Bells, he's only going to take some blood," Alice said knowingly as she sat on the other side of me. "That's all; they just have to make sure your pregnant and don't have any illnesses that might be complicated by birth control."

"Well," I said. "As long as he has time."

"He has plenty of time," Alice said, jumping up and going to the door. "I'll ask him."

"Alice wait!!" I called, but it was too late—she was already out the door.

"It's OK, dear, he kind of already knows this is coming," Esme said. "We talked about this earlier."

"Oh great!" I said weakly.

"Well," Esme said, glancing at Renee, "I'm going down to start dinner. Rose, would you like to help me."

Rosalie saw that Esme was trying to give me and Renee a moment alone and nodded. "Bye Bells…Renee."

Renee nodded as they both walked out and then stood to sit by me.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about what happened with your dad this morning," she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No," I replied as I returned her hug. "It's probably best if we just leave him be for the moment. Let him cool off and think things through."

"My little Bella," she said as she wiped a stray tear that feel down my cheek. "Always the miniature grown up. You don't have to put on this brave face, you know, it's OK to be hurt. In fact, it's expected."

"I know, and I am," I said.

Renee pulled me close and pressed her cheek to mine, "You really love that boy, don't you?"

"With all my heart," I said. "In fact, when he comes to med school at U-dub, I'm transferring with him."

"Wow, that's quite a commitment, Bells," she, suddenly wary again. "And you're sure you want to do that?"

"Yes, I don't want to be that far away from him."

She smiled and turned to me, "Well, at least I'll have you close again."

I looked into her eyes and, for a moment, saw the old Mom there once again. Another tear rolled down my cheek, "I've missed you, Mom. Will you come out and visit me in Pullman?"

"Of course," she said. "In fact, how does next weekend sound?"

"Really? That'd be great!"

"It's a date, then," she said as she kissed my forehead. "Besides, we need to get all the details ironed out for your bridesmaid dress."

I chuckled and hugged her tightly.

We walked downstairs to find Phil and Emmett sitting in front of the TV watching a UFC match. Emmett jumped up when he saw me enter the room. He pulled me in for a full-on, Emmett-style bear hug.

"Hey kiddo! I heard what happened with Dad, I'm so sorry! Are you OK?"

"Can't breathe," I choked out.

He set me down and looked in my eyes seriously. "Really, are you OK?"

"Not completely, but I'm getting there."

"Do you want me to talk to Dad?"

What's with this family being so talky lately? "No, that's OK."

Just then, Edward and Carlisle emerged from the basement. Edward walked up to me with his face ducked down like he was nervous about something.

"Umm, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked.

He was starting to worry me—was he going to break up with me? Had his dad told him something that made him change his mind? No, Carlisle wouldn't do that! He likes me...right? Stop it, Bella! You're jumping to conclusions!

He took me to the front room and sat me down next to him on the couch.

"So, I had an interesting talk with my dad." Uh oh. "And he wanted me to ask you something."

I tilted my head to the side, "What?"

"Umm...would you want him to get you prescription for birth control?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, is that all?"

"Well...yeah, what were you expecting?"

"You were making it sound so serious, like he asked you to break up with me or something."

"Why would he ever do that? He loves you! In fact, I think he likes you better than he likes me!"

I laughed and threw my arms around him, "Not possible."

"So, do you want to? You don't have to, he just offered."

"No, I want to. In fact, that's why the girls dragged me upstairs, to talk about how safe we're being."

"They orchestrated quite the elaborate interrogation, didn't they?" He laughed.

"Indeed."


	17. Chapter 17

**I'll spare you all—and myself :-P—a trip to the doctor's office and just get our heroes back to school.**

**EPOV**

Back in Pullman, things seemed pretty much the same. Actually, it was a little bit quieter around the Pi house because James had moved out for the new semester. That arrangement made things easier on everybody.

My community service started today—I had a choice between volunteering with the American Red Cross, or working with a roadside cleanup crew. I took the Red Cross job. Today was all about answering phones and getting information to the right people—that seemed easy enough.

At the end of my four-hour stint, though, my overseer told me she would knock off another hour for today if I donated blood. I took the needle without any hesitation. Although, I was a bit woozy for a while after that, even when I got home and sat on the couch next to Bella.

"Are you OK?" She asked as she put her hands on either side of my face.

"Yeah, I just gave some blood so they would give me another hour for my community service," I replied, nuzzling her hand with my face.

"Well, then I had better get you some food," she said as she stood up.

"You know there's nothing in the fridge here besides beer and soda."

She opened the door to see I was telling the truth.

"Huh...so what am I going to do? Let's see...how about I go get something at the store?" She thought out loud as she grabbed her purse by the side of the couch.

"No," I whined as I pulled her into my lap. "Just stay here and we'll order in."

"I'm tired of take-out," she said.

"Well, that's too bad 'cuz I'm not letting go of you."

She squirmed a bit but saw that she wouldn't make any headway – I may be weak right now, but I'm still stronger than my tiny angel. She sighed and leaned against me.

"What do you want to order?"

"Chinese," I said. "I need some egg rolls."

"Well, I'm going to have to get up to find the number so we can order."

"Actually, I have it right here," I said as I pulled my cell out of my pocket.

"You have the Chinese food restaurant's phone number programmed into your phone?"

"Yup...don't worry, it's my number 2...you're still my number 1."

"I damn well better be," she laughed as she grabbed my phone.

She ordered the food and we watched some stupid VH1 reality show until the doorbell rang. Bella jumped up to answer and let out a gasp. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

It was James. I stood up on my still shaky legs and made my way to the door. He stood there with our food in his hands and an evil grin on his face.

"Where's the delivery guy?" I asked as I approached him.

"I gave him a 50 and he fucked off."

"Well," I said as I took the bag and handed it to Bella. "Thanks for the free dinner."

I went to slam the door in his face, but he held his hand out and stopped it. I was too weak to force him out, but I was still going to try.

"You don't live here anymore, asshole! So you can fuck off too!"

"First of all," he said as he managed to push his way past me, "I'm still a member of this fraternity, which means I can come here whenever I like. And secondly, I just paid for your dinner; I think that entitles me to dine with you."

I reached in my pocket, pulled out a 50, crumpled it up and threw it in his face.

"There, that should cover everything."

He let the money drop to the floor and stared at it with an amused expression. "Aw, I can't take your money, Cullen! Besides, I'm hungry."

"So get your own food," Bella told him. "This is ours, and it's not like we asked you to pay for it."

"No, I did that out of the goodness of my own heart," he shot back. "And now you're both going to be rude and not give me so much as an egg roll? I'm shocked, Bella, here I thought you were such a nice girl."

I stood between him and Bella, "Take the money and leave us alone!"

He looked like he was going to speak again, but thought better of it and turned to leave. "OK, if that's the way it's going to be."

He closed the door after giving us one quick yet ominous look. The sooner Bella and I can get out of Pullman the better, I thought. We ate our dinner in silence then watched some more TV.

**BPOV**

The first few days when we got back from Seattle were very much the same as they had been before. I still felt this unnecessary need to be extra careful when I was with Edward, even though I had already started my prescription for Ortho Tri-Cyclen. The first few nights, I still reminded him to put on a condom because there was this little voice of worry somewhere inside of me that was sure I could still get pregnant if we were relying on just the pill.

And, I could tell he was getting a little frustrated.

We had been making out on his bed for the past hour on Thursday night – at first it was just sweet, gentle kissing, but it had soon progressed into clothes being thrown to the floor. Although, I think my bra had managed to get hooked onto the ceiling fan.

There we lay, both in only our underwear, and I started reaching for the top drawer of his bedside stand.

"Angel, that pill is about 98 effective," Edward said. "We don't have to be so careful all the time."

I moved my hand to his face as he gazed at me lovingly – that intense, genuine look of love that I'm powerless against. He was right.

I allowed him to remove my panties and kiss his way from the tip of my left big toe to the very center of me. As his tongue brushed across my clit, I arched my back off of the bed and began to buck my hips wildly. He knows exactly what to do to make the most incredible electricity course through me.

His tongue slid in between my folds as his thumb began to massage my nub and it was only a matter of seconds before I was convulsing from my first orgasm of the night. I could already tell there would be plenty more climaxes for me tonight.

Edward threw his boxers to the side and stretched his long, muscular body out on top of me. I grazed my fingernails down the side of his torso until they rested on his firm hips. I raised my knees so they rubbed against the outer side of his thighs as he entered me and held himself inside of me up to the hilt. We stared into each other's eyes, our lips just inches apart.

He reached down to take a hold of my hands and brought them back up so they rested against the pillow behind me on either side of my head. He held them there as he started to move inside of me slowly. This wasn't going to be one of our more adrenaline filled sessions, but rather a test of endurance.

We kept our steady pace for at least fifteen minutes as we simply reveled in the feeling of being connected without anything in the way.

"This is incredible, Angel," he moaned as he held my gaze. "Not that it isn't always, but it feels so damn good to be this close to you. How does it feel for you?"

"I…I…I can't even think right now," I gasped out as I began to feel my walls contract around him.

He slowed his pace even more, "No, don't come yet. Let's see how long we can take this."

"I can't stop it," I moaned as it overtook me.

I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him closer to me as I rode out this wave of pleasure. He pumped his hips faster as he found his own release just after mine. It was a strange and wonderful feeling, having his orgasm uninhibited by a condom – I could feel his cum explode inside of me and it was amazing.

We both were panting and sweating while we came down from our mutual high. He wrapped us in his quilt and held me close to him as he place a hand against my cheek and captured my lips in a searing kiss.

"OK," I said as we pulled apart, "I'll stop being so careful from now on."

He grinned, "You really liked that, didn't you?"

"That was the most amazing experience I've ever had," I replied. "And just when I thought making love to you couldn't get any better."

"It's only going to get better from here, too," he said as he rolled us over so I was on top of him.

I positioned him at my entrance and slowly slid down the length of him, causing his head to roll back and a manly grunt to escape his lips.

"Mmmm," I moaned. "Round 2 is going to be fun."

**Next morning**

Renee called me at 7 in the morning to tell me she was already on her way to Pullman. I was jarred awake from my wonderful dream of Edward by my phone ringing.

"Hello?" I said, not caring to disguise the disdain in my voice upon being woken up.

"Hey Babygirl," she said a bit too cheery. "I'm on the I-90, I should be in Pullman before noon!"

"I thought you were coming tomorrow," I said.

"Well, Phil's out of town until Monday, and you know how I get when I'm by myself for too long."

I gave a sardonic snort that woke Edward up, "Who're you talking to?"

I covered the phone with my hand, "Renee."

"Is that Edward?" She asked, I could practically hear her eyebrows waggling over the phone. "Did you stay at the Pi house last night?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," I said. "My third class lets out at noon, so if I don't answer my phone, just leave me a message."

"OK," she said. "I'll probably head over to that Pi house as soon as I get there."

"I'm sure Emmett and the boys will love that."

We said our goodbyes and I hung up as Edward pulled me into his arms. "Good morning, Angel. Did you sleep well?"

"I did," I said turning to him. "I had so many amazing dreams about you – it was almost as good as having you in real life."

He chuckled and kissed me. "So, Renee will be here today?"

"Mm-Hmm, about noon."

"And she's coming here when she gets in?"

I nodded.

"Well, I'll be here," he said. "I'll keep her company until you get out of class."

"Thank you," I said as I kissed him on tip of his nose. "I'm just going to skip my class at 3 today."

"Well, I can't skip my 2 o'clock class, I'm afraid – I have a pretty big test in that one."

"It's OK," I said. "I'll just show her around town a little bit. I'll have her take me to the store so I can get some things for dinner."

"No," he said. "I'll take you both out to dinner."

I shook my head, "We can eat in, you don't have to make a fuss."

"Hey, I'm still trying to make a good impression on your mom here," he said. "So, I'm taking you both to Swilly's tonight."

"That's too expensive!" I whined. "Let's just go to Pete's."

"Nope," he said. "We're going to Swilly's and I don't want to hear anymore arguing on the subject."

I opened my mouth to retort but he leaned in and kissed me. I let him silence me with his overwhelming charm once again. I can be such a doormat sometimes.

My third class let out early and I checked my phone as I walked in the direction of the Pi house – I had one call from Renee and a voice mail from Emmett. I punched in my password and began to hear Emmett's not-so-pleasant voice come over the phone.

"Bella! Why didn't you tell me Renee was coming? She just shows up at the house and she's dressed like – well, you know how she dresses! Please, get here fast!"

I erased the message and flipped my phone shut. Yes, Renee does have a tendency to shop in the juniors department. And she's a big fan of anything tight and low cut. Not that she can't pull it off, she still could give me a run for my money in the T&A department. But she is 42 now…she should probably start dressing like it.

I walked in to find Mike and Tyler standing in the kitchen giggling about something.

"Hey Bells, is that really your mom?" Mike asked.

"Renee? Yeah, she's my mom."

They looked me up and down with appreciative smirks. I rolled my eyes and walked away.

"Those are some good genes," Tyler quipped as I left the kitchen.

I walked into the living room to find Edward leaning against a wall, I went up and let him envelope me in his arms. Renee was seated on the couch with a gaggle of frat boys around her. She already had a Heineken in hand and was laughing and tossing her hair back as she regaled the boys with stories about her travels. Apparently Phil has taken her all over the world.

"Yes, we went to Paris and we were staying at the Ritz, but we were hardly ever in our room…we spent our days running around the streets drinking endless bottles of champagne…"

This went on for a good, solid ten minutes before she realized I was there.

"Hey Babygirl!" She jumped up and came over to me. "How was class?"

"Good," I said as I hugged her. "How was the drive?"

"Long and dreary."

"Is that a new toy I saw out front?"

"Aw, you saw the Aston Martin, huh? It was Phil's late Christmas present!"

"Whoa, an Aston Martin?" One of the Pi boys asked as they all jumped up to head outside.

There, on the side of the road amongst all the second-hand cars typically owned by college students, was a 2009 Aston Martin DB9. Knowing the makes and models of cars was one of the side-effects of dating a gear head like Jacob for a year – although, Edward's almost as bad.

"Damn, Mrs. Swan! That's an awesome ride!" Mike quipped.

"It's Renee, actually," she smirked. "And thank you, I'm hardly ever commended for the awesomeness of my ride."

I held back a laugh as I stood in the doorway with Edward.

"Has she been behaving herself?" I asked him quietly.

"Well, she hasn't made out with anyone, and she still has her clothes on – so all signs point to positive."

I giggled and reached up on my toes to kiss him. "Do you have to leave soon?"

"I've got about 40 minutes," he said as he glanced back at the scene in front of us. "How long do you think she will be occupied with this?"

"Not long, Renee gets bored easily."

"Damn," he said. "Well, I'll have you later, right?"

"I don't know; I'm not sure where Renee is staying tonight. She's probably going to want to stay in a hotel, so in the event of that, I will be all yours tonight."

"Oh, I'll put her up myself if I have to."

He was as good as his word. Renee revealed that she really hadn't thought about where she would stay tonight. Emmett got upset when she coyly suggested she should just sleep on the couch at the Pi house. When I suggested she sleep on the floor of my dorm room, which hasn't seen me in it in over a month, Renee scoffed indignantly.

"I'll just find a hotel," she said.

Edward had returned from class already and was on top of the situation. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a few numbers. "Don't worry, Renee, I'll have you up in a very nice suite in no time."

Renee raised one eyebrow at him and turned to me. "Where will you be sleeping?"

I straightened up and met her glare, "Here, most likely."

"Edward," she said, not taking her eyes off of me. "Make that two suites. And it's on me."

She went to hand him her credit card so he could read the number off to the receptionist at the hotel, but he refused it. "No, really Renee, I want to thank you for coming out to visit us."

"And I want to thank you," she said, not putting the card away. "You've made my daughter so happy – and I'm sure you know all she's been through over the past few years. Plus, I never got you a Christmas present."

She raised the card again and forced it into his hand.

"OK, but this I do this against my will, understood?"

"Absolutely," Renee smiled.

Edward ordered the rooms and I beheld my mother suspiciously, "Why do you want to buy me and Edward a hotel room?"

"Suite, darling, not just any old room," Renee laughed.

"Whatever," I continued, "Why? What's your angle?"

"No angle!" She said defensively. "I want to do this for you two. You can have a nice, romantic night together."

"We've had plenty of those," I replied.

"Not like this," I said. "You've been stuck in a fraternity house with who knows how many frat boys listening in."

"We had that night at his parent's second house," I said.

"Bella," Renee began, putting on her mom voice, "Are you really arguing a night alone with Edward in a big fancy hotel suite? Didn't I teach you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"Fine," I said. "We'll take it."

We got to the hotel after dinner. Mine and Edward's suite was, thankfully, a few rooms down from Renee – and, I had to admit, it was a lot better than New Year's night. Mostly because we had both seem to lose our collective sense of cautiousness during our love-making. Now, it was all about giving into our most primal urges.

Renee woke us up with a phone call at 7 a.m. again. I was very tempted to just throw the phone against the wall, but decided against destroying hotel property.

"Yes?" I mumbled into the phone.

"Get up and ready by 8," she said. "I found a cute bridesmaid dress at Macy's on the internet, and they have it at the Palouse Mall."

"OK," I replied, putting the phone back on the hook and attempting to push myself off the bed.

Edward had a vise grip on me, "Noooo…."

"I've gotta go," I said. "You know, you can come with me. I could tell Renee I refuse to go anywhere without you."

"You would subject me to Renee and shopping all at once? You're a cruel woman."

"Well, it's the only way to spend the day with me…and I do mean THE DAY – because that is how long this will take."

"Where are you going?"

"Palouse Mall."

"That's only 8 miles away," he said sitting up as I made my way to the bathroom.

"Yeah, well if Renee can find a reason to stay out longer, she finds it," I said. "I may come home with a whole new wardrobe."

"Tell her no," he whined. "Tell her I like you without wardrobe…it'd be like a gift for me."

"I'll try that."

I showered and met Renee in the hotel lobby where she stood with two coffees and a bag of Danishes.

"How long have you been up?" I asked.

"To look this fabulous?" She replied, motioning to her body – which was clad in tight-fitting jeans and a t-shirt that read 'Your boyfriend wants me.' "I get up every day at 6, at least."

As soon as we got to the mall, Renee marched me into the Macy's and we went up to a lady in the women's department.

"Hi," Renee said. "I hear you have a Max and Cleo trapeze dress in pale pink – size 4."

The lady – Georgia – smiled, "You must be Renee; yes, we've been holding that dress."

Georgia pulled the dress off of a rack and held it up. It was short and had several floating layers. It looked cute, but I'd still have to see how it looked on – and Lord knows that would give Renee ample opportunity to find something she liked even better."

I got in the dressing room and put it on – it was OK. I walked out and Renee had an armload of other dresses. She grimaced at the dress.

"No, OK…well, try these and we'll see what we like best."

The other four dresses Renee gave me were all short. She wanted me to have a fun, breezy look since the wedding was on the beach in Monterey. But, none of the dresses were – as she put it – dreamy enough.

So, she tried a different approach – longer dresses.

"Here," she said. "I want the dress to have a floaty, airy affect. And, if we like one that's too long, we can just get it hemmed."

I put on a Calvin Klein dress with a crisscross back and fell in love. I walked out and Renee's glowing expression matched my own. "That's it! That's the dress! Oh…but, it's too close to white…"

"Oh, don't worry," Georgia said quickly, panicked that she might lose a sale, "We can get that in a different color. When do you need it by?"

"I leave for Monterey on March 14," I said.

"Oh, we can definitely have it here by then. Now, let's pick a color, shall we?"

We decided on a hunter green. The length was fine; it barely grazed the floor, so no hemming was required. I turned to Renee as we zipped back to town in the Aston Martin, "Wait, don't you have specific colors for the wedding?"

"Nope," she smiled, "It's on the beach, Bella, what other colors do I need?"

I smiled and sat back to enjoy the ride. Renee took her eyes off the road for a moment to change the XM station and when she looked back up, a Coyote was crossing the road and she swerved to miss it.

The car spun around a few times, and then everything went black.

**OK, I'm throwing a curve ball here. I know when to ante up :-P**


	18. Chapter 18

**EPOV **

It was almost 5 p.m. and Bella and Renee weren't back yet. I didn't want to interfere with Bella's time with her mom—especially considering they were trying to rebuild their relationship—but I was starting to get worried. I know Bella said Renee likes to shop for long hours at a time, but this was a little too long.

Emmett and Jasper were trying to keep me entertained with video games, but it wasn't helping.

"Come on, man," Emmett said, "It's Renee, she's probably making Bella try on outfit after outfit and then taking her out for a big dinner or something."

I nodded and continued to play the game until Emmett's cell phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID, "Who the hell is this?"

He flipped it open, "Hello?"

He listened to the voice on the other end, "Yes, this is Emmett Swan."

He listened some more and all of the color drained from his face, "What?"

I put the controller aside and tried to listen in on what the conversation was about, I had a bad feeling Bella was involved somehow.

"When did this happen?" Emmett's voice was rising and tears were welling up in his eyes.

I jumped off of the couch and grabbed my keys, I was trying to hold back the tears and not imagine all the worst case scenarios. Bella is fine, I repeated to myself, just fine.

"I'll be right there," Emmett finally said, snapping his phone shut.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Whitman County Hospital," Emmett replied weakly, "They were in a car accident."

"I'll drive," I said as he and I piled into the car.

Jasper jumped into the backseat, "Here, Em, give me your phone. I'll call your dad and let him know what happened."

Emmett handed Jasper the phone slowly. I saw his face out of the corner of my eye and two streams of tears had already found their way down his cheeks. I was still desperately trying to hold back my own tears, but was doing a poor job of it.

Jasper spoke quietly into the phone behind us for a few moments and then hung up, "You're dad's out on a call, and they don't know when he'll be back in."

Emmett nodded silently. I kept him in my peripheral vision as I drove—I so wanted to ask him the burning question on my mind, but couldn't bring myself to it. It was just so unnerving, not knowing how bad the accident had been, not knowing if my poor little angel was going to be alright.

The trip to the hospital should have taken about twenty minutes, but in my haste it was more like ten. Emmett, Jasper and I flew through the doors and went immediately to the front desk.

"Excuse me," I said to the nurse, "We're looking for Bella Swan and Renee Ackerman, they were brought in after a car accident."

"Are you family?" The nurse asked indifferently as she scanned a chart looking for their names.

"This is Bella's brother and Renee's son, Emmett Swan" I said motioning to Emmett who had officially turned white as a sheet.

"Let's see, Miss Swan is out of surgery and is under surveillance in the ICU," she said. "And Miss Ackerman is still in surgery."

"So Bella's OK?" I practically shouted at the woman.

"I'm sorry; I can only release information to her family."

"He's right here," I said moving Emmett closer to the desk. "Tell him."

She gave me an exasperated look, "I'll let the doctors know you're here and they can tell you the patients' status."

She began to make some calls as we sat in the waiting room. I sat close to Emmett who was still weak from worry, his cell phone started to buzz but he was still too fazed to answer it. I grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Emmett? Is that you?" It was Charlie.

"No, this is Edward, Charlie, Emmett's still in shock right now," I said, my voice breaking.

"Are you two at the hospital?"

"Yes, Bella's in the ICU and Renee's in surgery," I said. "And we're waiting to hear from the doctors for more information."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he said. "I have a friend who's arranging to get me on a helicopter."

"OK, we'll be waiting."

As I snapped the phone shut, the doctor approached us, "One of you is Bella Swan's brother?"

Emmett finally raised his head, "I am."

"She's stabilized, but we're going to have to watch her closely to make sure she stays that way. She broke her left leg, her right arm and her jaw, but what's most troubling is her internal bleeding. But, I think the emergency surgery stopped all of that."

"You think?" I asked incredulously.

"We'll have to wait and see, if the bleeding doesn't start up before the day is through, she should be in the clear."

"What about my mom?" Emmett asked as his voice broke. "What happened to her?"

"She's still in surgery," the doctor said. "Her injuries are far worse, I'm afraid. We won't know anything for sure until she is out."

Another doctor in scrubs approached us.

"Ah," said the first doctor, "Here's the surgeon now."

The two of them chatted quietly for a moment before the man in scrubs turned to us, "You're Renee Ackerman's family?"

"I'm her son," Emmett said.

The surgeon sat down next to Emmett and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

**BPOV**

The last thing I remember was seeing the roof of my mom's car smash in towards me. And then blackness—hours and hours of blackness. Hell, I could have been out for days or weeks as far as I could tell.

I awoke to the sound of machines beeping all around me. It took me a moment to realize that the accident was bad—really, really bad. My arm and leg were in casts. I went to open my mouth to call for my mom, but I couldn't. My jaw was stuck in place by something. I began to panic and the machines around me started beeping louder and faster.

A woman in blue scrubs came in, "Miss Swan! Are you OK? Are you in pain?"

I began to make unintelligible noise as I tried to open my mouth, but to no avail.

"Miss Swan, please calm down!"

I finally managed a muffled, "Can't...talk..."

"You're jaw has been wired shut, it was broken in the accident."

That made me thrash even more.

"Please, Miss Swan, you're going to hurt yourself! If you don't calm down, I'll be forced to sedate you."

That stopped me, I had been out for too long and I wasn't looking forward to going back. I took a few deep breaths.

"Water...please..." I choked out.

The nurse grabbed a cup from the bedside table and put the straw near my lips. I took a long pull until my throat was no longer dry. Once I was done, I decided to try full sentences.

"Where's ...my...mom?"

"She's still in surgery."

"She's...going...to...be...OK?"

"I'm afraid we don't know that yet, she sustained more injuries than you."

I closed my eyes and squeezed back my tears, if I was this bad, mom must be a complete wreck—and I didn't want to think of my mom in any kind of pain.

"Emmett," I said.

"You're brother and his friends are in the waiting room," the nurse said as she checked all my tubes and machines.

"Edward?" I shouted.

"Who?"

"Edward...my...boyfriend..."

"I'm not sure if he's one of the boys out there," she said as she wrote something down on my chart. "Does he have short, red hair?"

"Yes!"

"Then he's here with your brother, along with a young man with blond hair."

"Jasper," I said, I took a long, labored swallow before continuing. "Dad...does...he...know?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll send in a doctor to check on you," she said before she turned to leave.

What else could I do? I lay there and stared at the ceiling until a man in a white coat showed up and checked all the same machines and tubes the nurse had just checked.

"How are you feeling, Bella?"

"Bad."

"That's to be expected," he said as he put the chart back on the end of the bed and walked to stand beside me. "You were asking about your mother?"

"Yes."

He paused for a long moment, "I'm afraid there was nothing we could do. We tried desperately to save her, but..."

"DEAD??" I screamed through my locked teeth.

He put a hand on my good arm to try and calm me. "One of her ribs had punctured her heart. I'm sorry, Bella."

I was bawling...how could this happen? We...we were trying to get to know each other. I was finally feeling like I had a mother again. WHY??

My tears were still falling when Emmett walked in and put his hands on either side of my face.

"Bells," he said in a weak voice, "It's OK, shhhh, I know, Babygirl...I know it hurts."

"WHY?"

"I don't know, Bells...I...I just don't know."

We remained like that for another hour, just crying and asking that same question over and over again. Why now? Why Mom? I cried until my eyes could produce no more tears. Emmett kissed me gently on my forehead. "Do you want to see Edward?"

"'Course."

He left and soon my love was walking through the door.

**EPOV**

I paced the waiting room as Emmett went in to talk to Bella. I was so anxious to see her and make sure she was alright I was about to chew my thumb nail clean off. I know all of the doctors were telling me she was going to be fine—but I wouldn't accept that without visual confirmation.

Plus, her emotional state was sure to be horrific. They just went in and told her that Renee had passed—just like that! How fucking insensitive can you get? This is why I didn't want to be a surgeon or any other kind of doctor in the E.R., they become emotionless zombies. I suppose you sort of have to be in the line of work they're in, but that doesn't really excuse it in my mind.

Emmett came back out after a little over an hour and walked straight up to me.

"How is she? Is she awake? Is she in pain?"

Emmett put his hands on my shoulders, "She's fine, still a little dazed and sad, but she's not in any pain that I'm aware of. She wants to see you."

I took a deep breath and nodded before I walked past him and into the room. There were more wires and tubes connected to her than I would have guessed. She was buried under there, my angel, her beautiful, fragile body broken and exhausted from all she had been through. Her eyes were closed when I approached and her angelic face was marred with bruises and cuts—but no less exquisite to me.

"Angel? Are you sleeping?"

She opened one eye, "No...just...resting."

She could barely speak through the wire that kept her jaw shut so it could heal. She smiled weakly at me and held up her good hand. I hurried into the seat and took it while I placed one gentle hand on her forehead.

"My love...Oh, Bella, I love you so much!" I couldn't help it, strong as I wanted to be, I lost it.

I promised myself I'd never do this in front of her again.

"Shhhh," she soothed. "'S...OK..."

"No! It's not! I should have gone with you! I should have driven both of you out there and made sure you got back OK! You wouldn't be in here! Renee would still be..."

"Stop!" She yelled suddenly. "It's...Not...Your...Fault!!"

I put my head down on the bed next to her and continued to weep as she stroked my hair with her good hand. I lifted my head and got as close to her as I could without hurting her or unplugging any of the tubes or wires. I caressed her face with my hands and moved in to kiss her lips gently. I could tell she was trying to kiss back, but couldn't quite get her mouth to cooperate. When I pulled back again, her eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Angel," I said quickly. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," she said through her teeth. "Couldn't...feel...that..."

"Don't worry, my love; when you're out of here, I'll never stop kissing you, OK?"

She nodded as I wiped her tears away.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Charlie came into the room. "Bella! Are you OK?"

"Fine...Dad..." she wheezed out.

"Oh thank God!!" He cried as he rushed to her side.

He stood by her on the opposite side of the bed from me as I stood up, "I'll let you two be alone."

"You don't have to leave, Edward," Charlie said.

"It's OK," I replied, glad he was actually talking to me. "I'll be out in the waiting room if you need me."

I turned to close the door behind me as Charlie sat in the chair I had vacated and began to weep.

**BPOV**

I never thought I'd see the day when my dad cried like this. I mean, he's been choked up before—gotten a little teary-eyed, like when I graduated from high school—but this was a full-on bawl. His face was saturated with his tears when he finally lifted his face to look at me.

"Bella, I'm the biggest god damn idiot in the world," he began, "I almost let you get away...I almost let my last words to you be ones in anger. I can't believe I was so foolish! Will you ever forgive me?"

"Don't...need...to...ask," I said as I took his hand and tried to smile.

We both stared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to bring up the subject of Mom—it was just too painful right now.

"Are you tired, sweetie? Do you need more rest?"

"No...slept...enough..."

"But you need it," he said. "Rest is going to help your body heal."

Then a thought occurred to me, "Phil?"

"What?"

"Told...Phil?"

"...Yes...Phil knows, sweetie," he said. "He's on his way here as we speak."

I nodded and swallowed with a wince.

"Are you OK? Do you need the nurse?"

"No...water..." I said pointing to the table next to the bed.

Dad stood to get the cup and placed it close enough for me to reach the straw like the nurse had done. I sipped and felt instantly better as the cool water splashed down my throat. All of these stupid pain meds were having bad effects on me—my throat and mouth were dry as a desert, and I couldn't feel my own boyfriend's kisses.

At least they were numbing, and considering the circumstances, I'd rather be numb right now.

The nurse came in fifteen minutes later and ushered Dad out so I could sleep. Once she checked everything once again and filled out the chart she turned to me, "Sometimes we put some music on, it can be soothing; do you want me to turn on the radio?"

"Sure."

She smiled and flipped the radio in the corner of the room on, it sounded like a country station...and I despise country music. I was about to protest when I heard the lyrics of the song playing and they made me go silent for fear I'd break down into tears again.

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house_

_That don't bother me_

_I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out_

_I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while_

_Even though going on with you gone still upsets me_

_There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok_

_But that's not what gets me_

_What hurts the most_

_Was being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_And watching you walk away_

_And never knowing_

_What could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was tryin' to do_

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go_

_But I'm doin' It_

_It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone_

_Still Harder_

_Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret_

_But I know if I could do it over_

_I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart_

_That I left unspoken_

_What hurts the most_

_Is being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_And watching you walk away_

_And never knowing_

_What could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was trying to do_

_What hurts the most_

_Is being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_And watching you walk away_

_And never knowing_

_What could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was trying to do_

_Not seeing that loving you_

_That's what I was trying to do_

I closed my eyes tight to keep the tears at bay and I was soon asleep—too tired and sad to try and stay awake a minute longer.

**A/N: Song - "What hurts the most" by Rascal Flatts**


	19. Chapter 19

**BPOV**

I was laid up in the hospital for three weeks before the doctors felt confident enough to let me go. I thought I was fine about a week into the healing process, but, then again, I'm not the expert.

Phil and Dad had arranged for Mom's funeral to be held until I was well enough to attend—but I wasn't sure that I wanted to. Part of me just wanted to crawl into a hole and pretend this never happened. Just pretend that Mom was back in Seattle and ignoring her mothering duties as usual. I'd rather have the negligent Renee than no Renee at all.

But there was a bigger part of me that knew I had to be there. I had to be there for Emmett and Dad, but, more importantly, I had to be there for myself. I had to say goodbye in person; and if I couldn't handle Renee's death, what would I do when Dad died? Or Emmett...or Edward?

At least I didn't have to do this alone. Edward was there with me, pushing my wheelchair around as we went from the church to the cemetery outside. Emmett, Dad, Phil and some distant male relatives carried Mom's casket to its final resting place. Edward walked me behind it as we were trailed by Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper and the rest of the procession.

We all sat along side the burial site under a canopy – it was raining, it was almost amusingly appropriate…almost. I held Dad and Emmett's hands as Edward stood behind me, the ever-dutiful boyfriend – I don't know what I would do without him.

The pastor finished the rites and the casket began to lower into the grave. The devastating finality of it all was burrowing a hole in my insides. I didn't feel much pain from my injuries anymore, it was all just emotional pain; the pain of losing Mom combined with the pain of knowing how my Dad and Emmett were hurting – it was too much sometimes.

I closed my eyes as Edward began to pull my wheelchair away from the site, and not a moment too soon. The tears had already begun to sting my eyes and soak my cheeks. We were on our way to the car when someone stopped Edward. I saw the long legs of a black suit standing in front of me before Phil knelt down to get at eye-level with me. He looked into my eyes with a weak smile.

He waited there a long moment before he spoke, "…For what it's worth, Bella…I really wanted you to be my stepdaughter."

More tears threatened to spill as I nodded and lowered my eyes back down to the ground in front of me as I felt a small spasm of sobs course through me. Edward was at my side in a split second, rubbing my back and murmuring to me gently, "Shhhh, it's OK, Angel…it's OK."

Once the sobs subsided, Edward wheeled me to the car and lifted me up to set me in the back seat with my leg up. He folded up the chair and put it in his trunk before he helped me buckle in and got in the driver's seat. Alice opened the back door opposite from me and lifted my leg gently; she slipped under the pillow my cast was resting on. Jasper jumped in the front passenger seat.

Alice tilted her head against the headrest and looked at me, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm OK," I lied, my speech still somewhat inhibited by my wires. "My leg doesn't hurt anymore."

"I didn't mean your leg."

"I know – but I'm still fine."

She eyed me suspiciously and shrugged. We rode to my dad's house in silence. Edward jumped out and didn't bother to grab my chair; he just carried me inside and set me on the couch. He sat next to me with a pillow on his lap so I could rest my leg on it.

I lay back against the arm of the couch and closed my eyes. It had been a long day, and it wasn't over yet. Sue Clearwater had been baking and cooking all day for the friends and acquaintances that would be dropping by to pay their respects.

Sue, Leah, Esme and Rosalie were setting food out on a table in the kitchen as people began to show up. I gave Edward a wearied look – I wasn't sure how many more "I'm so sorry's" I could take today. He took my good hand and smiled reassuringly.

"I know you're tired," he said. "I'll get you to bed as soon as I can."

It was the end of January, and I would have to have the wires on my jaw for another three weeks and the cast on my right arm until the middle of March, at least. So, I decided to just defer this semester begin again next fall. Although, part of me was very tempted to transfer to U-dub over the summer so I could be close to Dad. But – surprisingly enough – Dad said I should keep with my original plan to transfer when Edward does.

"If you love him, stay with him," Dad had said.

I couldn't argue with that.

The first people to drop by were, of course, Billy and Jacob. Jake surprised me by being very descent and sweet to Edward and me. It's amazing the kind of compassion death can bring out in people. Jake got himself and Edward plates of food and brought me a cup with what looked like a fruit smoothie in it.

"Where'd you get this?"

"Sue has a bunch of it made up for you," Jake said. "Let me know when you need a refill."

He sat in front of me to eat and talk. I got the bright idea to mention the car Jacob had been building so he and Edward spent a great deal of time talking about cars. At least they have something else in common besides me.

I sipped my drink and listened to Jake and Edward chat – suddenly, a gentle hand was in my hair. It was Esme who sat on the arm of the couch and stoked my hair. I leaned back towards her and closed my eyes as she comforted me.

**EPOV**

I wasn't all that happy to see Jacob at the house, initially, but anyone who wanted to pay their respects to Bella's family had the right to. I sat on the couch as he approached. He stood in front of us awkwardly.

"I'm…I'm sorry about your mom, Bella," he said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled at him weakly, "I'm OK, Jake, thanks."

He nodded and looked down at his feet as Billy came by and patted Bella gently on the hand. He didn't need to say anything; the sad look on his face said it all. When Bella turned back around, Jake perked up suddenly, "Do you two want some food? I'm going to get something."

"Sure, thanks Jake," I said.

Jake returned with two plates of food and a cup in his hands – he gave the cup to Bella. It was a smoothie, and I was glad my Angel was getting sustenance – she hadn't been doing much of that lately. I wasn't sure if it was because of the wires, or because she didn't feel like eating.

I don't know how it happened, but Jake and I ended up chatting about cars. He's rebuilding a Mustang from the ground up – I was impressed. As we talked, my mom walked over and sat behind Bella, stroking her hair gently. Bella leaned back and the look on her face almost made me burst into tears. It was sadness mixed with a need to be nurtured, comforted.

Mom looked to me as I gazed at my Angel. I looked up to meet Mom's eyes and saw she was thinking the same thing I was – Bella needed our family right now. In that moment, she became an official part of the Cullen family.

The party cleared out and I turned to see Bella's head still in my mother's lap, she was dead asleep. I smiled and gently began to pick her up. "It's time for my little Angel to go to bed."

I took her up to her room and laid her down. She was still in her dress, but I somehow managed to maneuver her out of it with waking her. Luckily, she was wearing a slip underneath. I positioned her foot on pillow near the end of the bed and carefully tucked her quilt around her. I turned to walk out and sleep on the air mattress downstairs when she moaned.

"Edward…stay…"

"I've got to sleep downstairs, Angel. We don't want to get in trouble with your dad, do we?"

"Stay…I don't care what he thinks," she said. "I need you."

"What if I hurt you," I protested. "What if I roll over and hurt your leg or your arm."

"I don't care," she repeated. "Stay."

I sighed and kicked my shoes off. I was pulling my tie off when I felt her tug at the bottom of my shirt, she began unbuttoning it.

"Maybe I should keep this on," I suggested.

"Nope – shirt goes."

"As you wish," I laughed.

I shrugged the shirt off and when to climb into bed with her when she tugged at my belt. "No pants!"

"Bella," I warned. "I don't want to be tempted to do anything…it'll be easier if I keep my pants on."

"No pants," she said. "It won't be comfortable."

I sighed and got back up, unzipping my pants and dropping them to my ankles. I kicked them to the side and eased myself into bed with her. She snuggled herself closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. She began to put her bad arm on my chest, but she pulled back shyly. "Sorry, you don't want my rough cast on your chest."

"How do you know?" I teased as I grabbed her wrist and put it back on my chest.

She sighed contentedly and settled as close as she could get. I realized she had to bend at an awkward angle over her leg cast to get to me and I got an idea.

"Here," I said as I moved myself over her to the other side of the bed. "Now you can get closer."

I rolled onto my side and slipped my left leg on top of hers. I rubbed my foot up and down her smooth calf and listened to the sound of her soft breathing. I thought she was asleep, but she turned her head slightly and I was she was staring at me.

"Let's get married."

"We are getting married.

"I mean, let's set a date," she said. "I want to get married after you graduate."

"That soon?"

That's more than a year away," she replied. "That's plenty of time."

"Bella, you'll only be 20," I said. "And you'll still be in school."

"So, we'll make it work."

"Let's discuss this later, when you're better."

"This isn't the pain meds talking," she said defensively. "I'm serious. You said you want to marry me one day, and I'm saying I want to do it next year."

"I don't think it's the pain meds, Angel – I think it's…Renee…"

"This has nothing to do with Mom," she replied angrily and I was instantly ashamed for bringing her up.

"OK, OK…We'll get married next summer," I said as I pulled her in and kissed her gently. "Anyway…it's not like I haven't been anxiously awaiting the day I get to call you Mrs. Cullen."

She smiled, "Mrs. Bella Cullen. I like the sound of that."

"Not as much as I do."

**BPOV **

**Late May**

Emmett and Rosalie had set the date for their wedding to be June 13. I was afraid I hadn't been much use as a maid-of-honor as I was stuck in various kinds of casts up until the beginning of this month. But, now that things were down to the wire, I was definitely putting my nose to the grind stone to get everything done.

Maybe a little too much.

"Bells, when was the last time you slept?" Rosalie asked me while we were getting her second dress fitting.

"Hey, I spent most of February and March sleeping," I countered. "I'm making up for lost time."

The lady at the dress shop taught me how to help Rosalie into the dress and put her veil on so I could help her on the day of the wedding. She was positively glowing in her gown and it almost made me want to cry.

"It's so beautiful, Rose."

"Yeah," she said. "Except the hem is too long. Other than that, it's perfect."

The seamstress rushed over to put some pins in the bottom of the dress where Rosalie wanted it to hit, and then she took the dress off and we drove back to the Pi house. I had been spending most of my time with Edward – though, some of the brothers complained that I was living there free of charge.

"So are most of you," Emmett would say. "It's not like you pay your rent, Mommy and Daddy do that for you."

That generally shut all the naysayers up.

We still hadn't said anything about our plans to get married next summer, but we figured we'd wait until the excitement of Emmett and Rosalie's wedding dies down. One thing I was glad of was that Rosalie made Alice a bridesmaid. Having Alice around for most of the summer made all of the showers and various events involving the rest of the Sig Kaps more bearable.

As much as Rosalie and I didn't want to invite the likes of Victoria, Jessica and Lauren to her bridal shower, Samantha said it might not be a good idea to play favorites and leave certain sisters out. Personally, I didn't care if any of these bitches knew I didn't like them – hell, I was leaving in a year anyway.

When Rosalie and I walked into the Pi house, Alice and Jasper were on the couch watching TV while Mike and Tyler sat in a corner griping about something. I eavesdropped a bit of their conversation and heard the word 'moochers.' I could only guess they were discussing me or Alice.

I walked up to Edward's room to hear him talking softly to someone, I gently pushed the door open and he lifted his head and smiled. He had his cell phone to his ear and I closed the door silently behind me. I sat on his bed next to him and he put his hand over the mouthpiece quickly, "It's my mom."

"Hi Esme," I said a bit too loud so she could hear me.

He listened for a second, "She says hi and wants to know how you're feeling now that you have your cast off."

"I'm great, thanks; I feel free."

"Did you hear that, Mom?" He asked into the phone. "Here, let me put this on speaker phone, I hate being the middle man."

He pushed a button and Esme's musical voice filled the room, "Bella?"

"Hi Esme."

"Hello darling! I can't wait to see you when we come out for Emmett and Roses' wedding!"

"I can't wait to see you either, I miss you."

"I miss you more…a year's too long! I think you two need to move to Seattle now!"

"Mom," Edward warned.

"I know," she replied, "I'm being the overbearing mother, but I can't help it! I like having my kids around me."

I love it when she refers to me as one of her kids – it's like me and Edward are married already. We chatted a little longer and then said our goodbyes. Edward placed his phone on his bedside table, and by the time he had turned around I pounced on him like a tigress.

The past few months have been weird – I can't even begin to describe how awkward it is trying to have sex with some cumbersome cast on your leg. It was just so trying, every time I'd go to wrap my legs around his waist my cast would brush his side and scrape him – I even drew blood one time.

But, there are not more casts anymore…nothing in the way of our lovemaking. Just him and me. We rode countless waves of passion before we both were too tired to move. I looked at the clock before I drifted off to sleep and saw that it was midnight – we had started our activities around 4 in the afternoon.

Today was an amazing day – and I hadn't had one of those in a while.

**So, next should be the wedding and the start of Bella and Edward's final year at Washington State.**


	20. Chapter 20

**YAY!! Twilight the movie will be out THREE WEEKS EARLY!! **

**BPOV**

June 8 came too quickly. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off for the past two weeks, throwing showers and getting bridesmaids dresses fitted. And then there were Rosalie's parents, who took so little an interest in their own daughter's wedding that they weren't going to bother showing up until the day before. And they weren't going to be at the rehearsal dinner – classy people.

But I couldn't let that unpleasantness distract me from my duties. I had to gather together my fellow bridesmaids and get them to the David's Bridal in Spokane so we could all pick up our dresses – and make sure they fit.

Luckily, Alice is more capable of being a bitch to stupid people than I am; though, she said, I'm getting there. Samantha, of course, was at the Pi house bright and early to go – I'm glad Rosalie has at least one friend in the Sig Kaps. Victoria, for some reason, was one of the bridesmaids as well. Rosalie said it was because they were good friends at one time and made a vow to put each other in their respective weddings. And Rose is not one to go back on her word.

Alice and I both agreed we'd have no trouble tossing a girl like Victoria out of our wedding party.

We were sitting around drinking the Starbucks that Samantha had brought when a car pulled up blasting some awful Carrie Underwood music. There were four girls in the car singing along – very off key, if I do say so myself. It was Victoria and the last two other bridesmaids, Kayla and Alex. And someone else was in the car with them. I strained my eyes to see who it was when Tanya stepped out of the front passenger seat.

Samantha jumped up to object before I could even speak. "She can't come, she's not a bridesmaid."

"Geez," Victoria said, "Snobby much? She's just tagging along because we're driving to Moscow to go to a club tonight."

"It takes, like, fifteen minutes to get to Moscow," Samantha said. "You can pick her up later."

"Last time I checked, Samantha, this is a free country," Tanya said, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder. "So, I'm going whether you like it or not."

"Let's just go," I said.

Alice, Samantha and I jumped into Sam's car and led the way to Spokane. Rosalie had decided we would all have the same color dress in a different style. It was a deep purple and my dress have an empire waist and a v-neck, Alice's was an a-line with one shoulder, Samantha's was a simple but cute strapless – Victoria had whined that she didn't get to wear that one.

Rosalie gave Victoria the more conservative, boring dress on purpose. However, when we all showed up and got our dresses, I noticed Tanya and Victoria had gone missing. Alice tried on her dress and it looked great and Samantha didn't need to try hers because she knew it was perfect.

I went in search of the strays and found them in the bridesmaids section looking at different dresses. Victoria held a strapless number up that I knew would leave little to the imagination and Tanya said, "That's perfect, get it!"

"Hey Victoria, you need to make sure your dress fits," I said.

Both sneered at me, "Swan, you're seriously delusional if you think I'm going to wear that little smock Rose picked out for me. It looks like something a teacher would wear."

"Why, because your boobs aren't on display in it?" I asked.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yeah, well that's your dress," I said. "So, if you don't like it, too bad. You either wear it, or you're not in the wedding."

"Um…yeah, I don't think you get to make that decision," Tanya said, trying to sound condescending.

I was unfazed, "Wanna bet? Just one call from me that you're not cooperating and Rose will throw you out of this wedding in half a second."

"Of course," Tanya retorted, "Little sister goes running to someone to fix things doesn't she? Emmett, Rosalie…Edward…"

I ignored Tanya and stared Victoria down. She knew I was right; Rosalie would listen to me over her any day. She put the dress back and stomped back to the dressing rooms. Tanya glared at me as I smiled and turned to follow Victoria.

**EPOV**

**June 12**

Emmett's officially a nervous wreck. And I'm frustrated that I can't seem to do anything to calm him down. We drove in to Seattle yesterday and he was fine – cool as a cucumber. Now he's running around trying to find something, anything, to fret about.

"Did the other groomsmen get their tuxes fitted? Are their vests the right color?"

"Yes," I said. "I took them on Monday and everything is fine, relax."

We were staying at the Hotel Vintage Park courtesy of Rosalie's parents, I guess they figure since they can't show up on time, they'll try to buy us all over with fancy hotel rooms.

Emmett was staying in the Vintage King room and I went to the mini fridge to see what liquid tranquilizers I could find. They had two bottles of Jack Daniels and two cokes – perfect! I poured us both a drink and sat Emmett down in front of the TV to calm his mind.

The rehearsal dinner would be in the hotel's restaurant, Tulio, and we were due down for dinner in an hour. Someone knocked on the door, and I got up to answer to find Jasper standing there. He walked in and pulled some small bottles out of his pockets – all of the booze in his fridge.

We managed to get Emmett to relax before we walked him down to the restaurant. I was so concerned with getting him downstairs and to the table that I didn't notice my Angel standing there next to Alice. She was in blue – my favorite color on her, no matter what the shade.

I turned and she looked up at me with those enormous brown eyes. I cursed the fact that we weren't staying in the same room tonight. She was sharing a room with Alice and I was stuck with Jasper – on a completely different floor. I'm sure that Jasper wouldn't mind having Alice stay with him, but I wasn't sure I wanted to ask my sister to switch rooms with me so I could spend the night with my girlfriend.

I approached her and took her hands in mine, "How are you today, Angel?"

"Fine…just trying to keep Rosalie from going insane."

"Aw, so we've been doing pretty much the same thing," I said.

She laughed, "Emmett being difficult?"

"Nah…well…maybe a little bit."

She smiled and stretched up onto her toes to kiss me; I put my arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Uh-hum!" Alice cleared her throat next to us. "Get a room."

"I have a room," I said, refusing to let Bella go. "It's just not with the person I want to be with."

"So, let's trade," Alice said.

I stopped kissing Bella and stared at my sister in amazement, "Seriously?"

"Edward, what made you think I wouldn't want to trade rooms with you? You're staying with my boyfriend; I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner."

I turned to Bella and waggled my eyebrows at her, making her laugh as I twirled her around. I placed her gently back on the floor and led her to our seats next to Emmett and Rosalie. Our table held just eight people, which meant that the psycho known as Victoria had to find some place else to sit – which I was very thankful for. I had heard about how she took Tanya on the trip to get the bridesmaids dresses and almost demanded Rose throw her out of the wedding.

But, I knew that would only incur the wrath of Rose.

We ate dinner and toasted the soon-to-be married couple before we began to split off into various groups. Charlie was staying in the hotel just down the hall from me and Jasper. I really hoped he would notice Alice heading to our room instead of me. I decided I wouldn't take any of my bags with me, it would be too obvious. I just stood in the lobby with my arm wrapped around Bella until Charlie looked like he was ready to turn in.

He was about to get on the elevator when he turned back, "You kids going to bed?"

I was about to answer when Jasper and Alice walked up behind us, "We're all going to the girl's room to watch a movie before we turn in, Chief Swan."

"Jas, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Charlie?"

"Sorry sir, bad habit."

"Well," Charlie said, giving us one last glance over his shoulder, "Don't stay up too late! Wedding's at 11 a.m. – need you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow."

"Yes sir," we all said in unison.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, I turned to Jasper, "Thanks man."

"What?" He asked. "Did you think I was kidding?"

Jasper had a serious look on his face that worried me; I thought he knew I wanted to be alone with Bella tonight. Once he noticed the panic in my eyes, he lost it. "HA!! Had you going!"

I smacked him in the back of the head and turned with Bella to grab an elevator. Once we were upstairs, Bella took out her key card and opened her door. We walked in to a gigantic suite with a fireplace and a plasma screen. It was definitely nicer than mine and Jasper's room.

"Hey," I whined. "How'd you two score this room?"

"Rosalie's parents made extra sure the bridesmaids were taken care of," she said haughtily. "You groomsmen don't need this kind of luxury."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yep."

"Well," I began, "I think that little remark is gonna cost you some foreplay."

I threw her over my shoulder before she had time to react and took her into the bedroom. She squealed as I tossed her onto the bed and jumped on top of her. Her soft, silky blue dress had slipped up her legs a bit, so I put my hand on her right thigh and pushed it up even further. I was going to stop just above her panties, but my hands kept moving until I had pushed the dress over her head and threw it onto the floor.

She lay before me in just those white panties and her deep, brown eyes were hooded in passion. I decided to rethink that whole no foreplay idea. I ran my palms from her shoulders to her breasts and massaged them gently.

I love her breasts, they're perfect, and it annoys me sometimes that she's so self-conscious about them. They're naturally a D-cup and perfectly shaped – perky, but not so you'd think they were fake. I think she saw the slew of skinny Sig Kaps with no boobs and thought that with her full breasts and rounder hips that she's fat – but she's perfect. I wanted to devour every part of her in every waking moment.

I replaced one of my hands with my mouth and suckled on her tiny, pink nipple. She moaned and buried her hands in my hair. Her legs wrapped around my waist and she began to rub her warm, moist center against the erection that was straining my pants to near destruction.

I wanted to take my time, but she seemed to have other ideas.

"No…you said no foreplay…" she moaned, "Just make love to me…"

"Patience, Angel," I whispered as I continued to kiss and lick at her breast. "We have all night."

I put my mouth against her other breast and felt her tug at my hair and bring my mouth to hers.

"I don't want you to take your time," she hissed, "I want you to fuck me."

She's never said anything like this before, "Angel? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is I want you and you're being too slow," she said. "I want you inside of me now!"

Her tiny hands grabbed my shirt and ripped open all of the buttons in one, violent tug. I didn't know she had this kind of strength. She tore the rest of the shirt off of me and threw it to the floor before she began removing my pants. Two can play at this game.

I jumped out of the bed and took my pants and boxers off swiftly. She began to sit up, but I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down. I ripped her panties off in one, quick motion.

I parted her legs and positioned myself in front of her when her phone started ringing. We both ignored it and I plunged into her. I worked myself into a frenzy rather quickly as I pounded and her moans and whimpers came louder and faster than usual.

"Yes! Edward!! Lover…it feels so good!!"

She threw her head back and bit her lip as I thrust my hips like there was no tomorrow. My lips found her neck and I sucked and bit at her with a vengeance. I liked this hot, horny Bella.

This time, her room phone rang. Bella, in a fit of passion, reached over and threw it against the wall.

"OH FUCK!!" I grunted as I felt myself close to release.

"Lover! I'm coming…" she moaned as her walls convulsed around my cock.

I buried my face in the pillow behind her and grunted violently as I came into her. My hands massaged her hips gently as I pulled myself out of her. I rolled us over to our sides and we stared at each other in awe.

"I didn't know you had that in you, Angel!"

"I'm just full of surprises."

"Well…you're full of something right now…"

She gasped and smacked my shoulder playfully. I brought her in for a good, sound kiss when someone began pounding on her door. Then Rosalie started screaming, "BELLA!! YOU NEED TO COME HERE RIGHT NOW!!"

Bella sighed and turned over to get up and answer the door. I heard Rosalie walk in and begin to rant about her dress.

"IT DOESN'T FIT!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?? THE WEDDING'S TOMORROW!!"

"Calm down, let's go check it out," Bella said.

**BPOV**

Rosalie dragged me – wearing only my hotel bathrobe – to her room and took out her dress.

"IT DOESN'T FIT!!"

"OK," I said. "Put it on and let me see."

I helped her step into it and pulled it up. I zipped up the back and it got stuck in the middle of her back. I tried to pull the two sides together, but the stopped about an inch and a half apart. She was right.

"Did they measure it wrong at the fitting?" I asked.

"NO!" She cried. "IT FIT TWO WEEKS AGO!! HOW COULD I GET SO FAT IN TWO WEEKS??"

"You're not fat," I said. "Maybe it's just bloating, are you about to start your period?"

"NO, I…" she stopped.

"What?"

She ran to her purse and took out a pocket-sized planner and looked at something. She dropped the book and sat on the sofa crying.

"NO!! IT CAN'T BE!!"

"What, Rose?"

She lifted her face to me, "My period should have ended five days ago…but I haven't had one in over a month."

"Rose…you think you're pregnant?"

She nodded and put her face back in her hands.

"Well…that's not a bad thing, Rose," I said. "It's so great. You're going to have a baby."

"I know, Bells, I'm not sad about the baby – but what am I going to do about the dress? I don't have time to replace it before tomorrow."

I sat next to her and put my arms around her. I tried to think of what we could do to remedy the situation and decided we would definitely need Alice's help. I called her and she was to the room in record time.

"OK Rose, I've got some options for you," she said as soon as she entered the room. "First of all, I know a girl who works as a manager at a bridal store around here. Now I know it's not the dress you wanted, but she can probably hook us up with one in a pinch. She owes me; I let her cheat off of my psychology final."

"OK," Rosalie said quietly. "What's the other option?"

"Well, you might not like this, but we could just go to the closest David's Bridal and grab something."

Rosalie grimaced at that suggestion. "Where's your friend's shop?"

The next morning, we all got up at 6 a.m. and met Alice's friend at I Do Bridal. She unlocked the door and hurried us inside.

"OK," she said. "I have this dress right here, you said you probably need a size 6, right?"

Rosalie nodded and took the dress from her. It wasn't as nice as Rosalie's Vera Wang, but it was still lovely. Rose tried it on and I zipped it up – luckily, it fit.

"OK," the girl continued, "This is our sample dress, so you have to have it back before my boss gets here tomorrow."

"I'll bring it by after the wedding," Alice said. "She's wearing a different dress for the reception."

The girl nodded and we thanked her and left.

Thankfully, that was the only hiccup we had in the wedding. Rosalie's parents showed up and were on time for the wedding. The ring bearer remembered the ring and none of the groomsmen were hung over. So far, so good.

Once Emmett and Rosalie said "I do," Alice and I rushed Rosalie upstairs and got her into her reception outfit which happily fit her, though it was a bit snug. I got her back downstairs as Alice rushed the dress back.

Edward took me aside as the reception got underway.

"What happened last night? What did Rose need?"

I looked around to make sure we weren't being watched and then took Edward outside. We stopped in a quiet corner on the balcony and I turned to him.

"Roses' dress wouldn't fit," I said. "She thinks she's pregnant."

"Really?" He gasped.

"Yeah, Alice got a friend of hers to loan us a dress from a local shop and that's what Rose wore."

"Wow," he smiled, "You girls were busy."

"Yup," I replied as I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Lucky for me I had such good sex last night, it gave me energy."

"I'll make a mental note – always fuck Bella senseless when I need you to do something for me."

I laughed, "Works every time."

**Yes, yes, I know…another pregnancy! At least this time it's not Bella :-P**

**P.S. Bella, Alice, Samantha and Victoria's bridesmaid dresses are linked on my profile. Check 'em out!**


	21. Chapter 21

**I would have had this out sooner, but I was mesmerized by the super-human hotness that is Michael Phelps…**

**BPOV**

Emmett and Rosalie took their honeymoon in Turks and Caicos for two weeks after the wedding. They would have stayed longer, but Rosalie was beginning to feel sickness from her pregnancy. She told Emmett before they left, but they still hadn't broken the news to Dad. They were planning on doing that when they got back.

We were all getting ready for the Fourth of July, and Edward and I were going to officially announce our engagement then.

Wednesday before the weekend of the Fourth, Edward took me out to lunch and a movie. Afterward, he said he had a surprise for me. He drove for a few minutes until we stopped in front of a group of town homes that had a nice Bavarian outer décor. He turned the car off and gave me Cheshire cat grin.

"What are we doing here? Who lives here?" I asked.

"We do."

"What?"

He got out and came around to open my car door. He helped me out and I stood and stared at him – waiting for an explanation.

"I started looking back in February," he said. "I don't want us to have to spend another year in the fraternity house. So, I got this town home."

"But…how much is it?"

"Don't worry about that. My parents are helping until I start my paid internship with the hospital here."

I had forgotten about his internship. Actually, I had been trying to block it out because it meant that he would be spending a lot less time with me. But, I guess that's something I'd have to get used to if I was marrying a doctor.

"So," I said as I stared at the house, "When do we move in?"

"Actually," he began sheepishly, "That's another surprise…we're already moved in."

"How?"

"I paid the movers to do it while we were gone today. Since all of your stuff was still in boxes, I knew it wouldn't take long to move."

He held up his hand and dangled a set of keys in front of me, "Ready to see your new home?"

I sighed and snatched the keys away from him. We walked to the door and I unlocked it, pushing the door open. The house is beautiful, the entire bottom floor has hardwood flooring, the kitchen is huge and the bedroom loft is spacious and covered in this super-soft carpeting.

I noticed he had purchased a new bed, as well. It was about twice as big as the one he had in his room at the Pi house. It was very low to the ground and took up much of the room. The bath room was huge and had a big bathtub, as well. Edward had thought of everything.

I was checking out the view from the bedroom window when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, how could I not? It's fabulous."

"I'm glad," he murmured into my ear. "I don't suppose you'd like to test out the new bed."

"Why? Do you need me to mow the lawn or something?"

He laughed out loud, "Nah…just some grout work in the bathroom."

I turned to him and smirked, "Let's do it."

He scooped me up and was about to throw me on the bed when my phone rang. He set me down and I found my purse sitting on the dresser. I pulled the phone out and saw it was Rosalie.

"Hey Rose," I said as I flipped my phone open.

"Bells, Charlie is in town tonight and we're going to take him out to dinner to tell him about the pregnancy," She said.  
"Did you go to the doctor already?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said I'm probably about two months along now."

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, but I want you and Edward to come along, just for support."

"Why are you so nervous about this?" I asked. "You know Charlie's going to be ecstatic."

"I don't know, but I'm not use to that kind of adulation. I just feel like it could turn bad at any moment."

"Well, it won't," I said. "But, if you want us there, we'll be there."

"Great! We're meeting at Sakura at 7."

"See you then."

I hung up and put the phone back in my purse before turning to jump back into Edward's arms.

"Now," I said between kisses, "where were we?"

"What did Rose want?" He asked as he caressed my face.

"We're going to dinner with them and Charlie tonight; they're telling him about the pregnancy."

"OK," he said.

He flipped us over so he was on top of me and he started to lift my shirt up. This time, his phone rang.

"God, are we giving off a signal here to make everybody call us?" I asked as he took his phone out of his pocket.

"Hey Alice," He said, rolling his eyes.

"Uh-huh….uh-huh…well, Bella and I are going to dinner with Rosalie, Emmett and Charlie…uh-huh…I don't know, we'll have to see if that's OK Rosalie, but I think she'll be cool…uh-huh…OK, bye Al."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Well…what'd she want?"

"She and Jasper wanted to know if we wanted to go out to dinner, but since we're booked up, maybe we could invite them to go out with all of us."

"Sure," I said. "Rose is freaked out about doing this alone, so the more the merrier, probably."

"Nice, well, I give Alice a call then…later…"

I grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him close to kiss me.

**EPOV**

At 6 p.m., Bella and I reluctantly rose from bed and took a shower. She was washing her hair when I began to massage her hips gently and pressed her up against the wall of the shower. I lifted her back side and slid my cock into her. She moaned and arched her back a bit.

My pace was slow as I reveled in the feeling of our slick bodies rubbing up against each other. She was whimpering as her cheek was pressed against the tile, but she suddenly became fidgety.

"Edward, we only have an hour," she panted out as scraped her nails down the tile.

"I know," I grunted.

I started to pound harder, trying to bring us both to one more climax before we had to get out of the shower. She started to contract around me as I spilled inside of her. We gave each other one last rinse before we stepped out to dry off. It was already 6:30.

"Damn," Bella said. "We have to hurry."

Bella threw on her clothes, which was all still in boxes, and we quickly made ourselves presentable. I drove us to Sakura and we rushed in to find Emmett, Rosalie, Dad, Alice and Jasper already at the restaurant.

Bella turned to me with a pretty blush on her cheeks, "You think they'll know why were late?"

"Possibly…but I don't give a damn."

**BPOV**

We joined our family and perused a menu while Rosalie and Emmett talked animatedly about their honeymoon. I got lost in a thought of what Edward and I would do for our honeymoon. I was thinking something different – like Tokyo or Fiji…something original, not just sitting on a beach somewhere.

Rosalie finished her ranting and looked at me meaningfully. I nodded with encouragement and Emmett grabbed her hand. She turned to Dad.

"We have some good news," Rosalie began, "…we're going to have a baby."

There was a brief silence before Dad stood up, "That's great, kids! When are you due?"

"Uh…January," Rosalie said in shock.

She looked at me and I shrugged, I told her Dad would be cool with it. He has been waiting for the day when Emmett announces he's having a child. I think Dad hopes it will be a big, strong boy like Emmett – a son to carry on the name of Swan.

"This calls for a celebration," Dad said.

He ordered us a ton of green tea ice cream; Alice proceeded to eat the ice cream too fast and got a head ache. We all laughed.

Dad toasted Emmett and Rosalie with some hot tea, and we all sat around the table – full of our dinner and happy for the parents-to-be. Then, Dad looked at me from across the table, "Bells, Edward, what did you two do this afternoon?"

We looked at each other and I glanced back at Dad, "Um, we went to lunch and a movie."

"Oh, that's nice," Dad replied – he could tell I was holding something back.

Edward – believing we should be totally upfront with my dad, decided to let the cat out of the bag.

"We moved into our new town home, too."

Everyone was silent again, waiting for Dad's reaction.

"Where is it? Can I see?" He asked.

"S…sure Dad, we can go by after dinner," I said as I turned to Edward in astonishment.

"Great," Dad said as he tried to pay the tab – but Emmett got to it first.

**EPOV**

**Fourth of July weekend**

Jasper and Alice joined us as we went to Seattle for the weekend, and Charlie – having spent the past couple of days in Pullman – drove back right behind us as though he was tailing a perp. It made me a bit self-conscious.

But it wasn't as bad as what I assumed was coming when I asked Charlie for Bella's hand in marriage. I was still trying to brace myself for Bella's dear father – who is an inch taller, 50 pounds heavier and carries a gun.

I decided to break myself in by talking to my dad to get some advice.

"Well, I don't think it will be as bad as you think, son," he said. "You and Charlie have come a long way. Just get it out and be done with it."

"Yeah…OK…I'll do that…"

"Did you get her a ring yet?"

Shit. "No, I haven't…I didn't think about that, I guess, I was just so happy she agreed to marry me."

"Well," Dad said. "Since she hasn't called you on it, yet, you can at least rest assured that she's not materialistic – at least outwardly."

"She's not at all, I already knew that."

Dad smiled, "Well, lad, I'd say you made an excellent decision here. Bella is an amazing young woman – you're lucky to have her."

"Don't I know it?"

Dad and I were grilling some hot dogs and hamburgers when Mom, Bella and Charlie brought out the utensils and such for the dinner. Alice and Jasper brought a couple bowls of things like potato salad and cole slaw. Once everyone had eaten, I stood up to announce our engagement – I wanted to be formal about this.

"Everyone, I'd hate to think I'm ripping off Emmett, but I thought this was the best way to do this. Charlie, Mom, Dad…Bella and I are getting married."

Dad sat back and smiled, Mom jumped up to hug both of us and Charlie was deadly silent. Mom had Bella up in a bear hug as I turned to Charlie. He was unmoving – it was scary as hell.

"Charlie? Are you OK?"

He nodded, "It's just a bit of a shock – not huge, though. I knew this was coming, but that doesn't seem to make it easier."

"You're OK with this, right Dad?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, Bells…I'm good…I'm happy," he said as he stood up, "Congratulations, you two are perfect for each other."

"Thanks Daddy," Bella said as she walked to him and hugged him.

"Of course, Babygirl, I know you'll be happy."

"So, when's the date?" Alice asked.

"We haven't set one, yet," Bella said.

"Well, I'll have to get Bella to work on all of the arrangements," Alice said.

Bella held onto my arm and gave me a worried look. "It's OK, Angel…I won't let her hurt you."

**It's a shorty, but I'm tired. I added the part about Bella and Edward moving because I am, myself, moving to a new place. So, if updates are few and far between the next couple of days, (weeks?) that's why.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks to all of the well-wishing on my new apartment – and it is awesome! Although, I am currently without my little, furry associate – my kitty, Bella (no, actually NOT named after the character – just a happy coincidence)**

**But hopefully we'll be reunited soon.**

**P.S. there's a photo of her on my profile now.**

**BPOV**

There should have been fireworks, fisticuffs…or at least a passionate tongue-lashing. But no, Dad just sat there – all cool and collected about the fact that his daughter, his very own Babygirl is getting married.

I know I should be happy about this, but it frightens me a bit. I mean, what if this means that there is a supreme freak out on the horizon when I'm least expecting it. Like he'll just snap one day and try to tear Edward's head off in a fit of rage.

It's mid-August and I'm about to get back to school, but I went out to Forks to get some things I had left while I was at home over the summer. I had left all the clothes that Mom bought me for Christmas – it had become painful to look at them after a while – and I wanted to grab a dress she bought me for the Sigma Pi retreat weekend.

I walked in to the house, thinking Dad must be at work since his cruiser wasn't out front. But I found the remnants of a lunch on the table and the TV was on downstairs. I put my purse down on the table and looked around, confused.

Suddenly, someone wandered into the kitchen – it was Sue Clearwater. And she was wearing a robe that left little to the imagination.

"Oh…Bella…Hey, how are you?"

"I'm fine Sue, how are you?" I asked awkwardly.

"Good," she replied, just as awkwardly, "I, uh, needed to borrow something so your dad told me there was a key under the mat…"

"Sue! What's taking so long?" My dad called.

Oh my god! Did I just walk in on my dad having some afternoon delight with Sue? I tried not to think about it was I attempted to excuse myself out the back. Dad walked in before I had a chance to – he was also wearing a bathrobe.

"Bells! Hey, kiddo…what are you doing here?"

"I needed to get some things I had left behind," I replied. "I thought you'd be at work."

"Oh, uh, I had this afternoon off…it's always slow on Wednesdays."

"OK," I said. "Well, I'm going to grab those things and go."

"No, stay," Sue said, "We're all getting together in La Push for a big bonfire, you can go back tomorrow."

"Uh, sure," I said. "I can do that; I just need to call Edward real quick."

I ran up the stairs and shut my bedroom door behind me as I tried to wrap my head around the situation. My dad was seeing Sue Clearwater, a woman I have know my whole life. I guess they're both pretty lonely – Dad has been by himself for the past few years, and Sue's husband died four years ago.

I should be happy about this – and it certainly explains Dad's new happy-go-lucky attitude towards all things Edward. I sighed and pulled my phone out of my purse. I called Edward to get some rational perspective.

"Hello Angel."

"Hey…I need to talk."

"What's up? You sound freaked."

"I am, a bit," I replied. "I got home and I found Dad and Sue Clearwater, together."

"You walked in on them having sex?"

"No, but they both came into the kitchen while I was downstairs and they were wearing bathrobes, what else could they be doing? Washing their clothes together?"

"OK, so how are you feeling? Are you alright with this?"

"I am, but it was just surprised. I'm happy if he's happy."

"That's good, so…no freaking out?"

"Yeah, no freaking out," I said, "Just a moment of panic."

"OK, so are you on your way home?"

"No, actually I'm going to stay the night. I'm going to a bonfire at La Push tonight with Dad and Sue."

"Oh," he replied, "Well, that sounds like fun."

"Yeah, so I'll leave first thing in the morning."

"OK…I love you."

"I love you more."

I flipped my phone shut and grabbed the cranberry-colored, Roberto Cavalli dress out of my closet and threw it on the bed. I was scanning for another option when someone knocked on my door.

"Bells? Can I come it?"

"Yeah Dad."

He walked in, thankfully fully dressed, and sat on the chair at my desk.

"So, you're probably wondering what's going on," he began, "Well, Sue and I have been seeing each other for about three months now. It seemed like a no-brainer, really, we've been by ourselves for so long, and we like each other…I'm not freaking you out, am I?"

"No," I said as I sat on my bed and smiled, "You deserve this, Dad. If you've found someone who makes you happy, then I'm happy too."

He smiled, "She does make me happy."

"Good – because if she ever makes you unhappy, I'm kicking her butt."

"OK, kiddo, whatever you say. So, what are you picking up?"  
"A few things… some of the stuff that Mom bought me for Christmas."

I pulled out a red Valentino dress and held it up. I hadn't even taken the price tag off of it before I shoved it in the closet – it was 6,000. I almost felt like I needed to handle it with gloves or something.

"That's a fancy dress. What do you need that for?"

"Sigma Pi retreat weekend," I said. "I wouldn't want to embarrass my fellow Sig Kaps by not looking fabulous."

"Oh no, parish the thought," he laughed. "By the way, have you and Edward decided on a date yet?"

"Next May," I said, "After he graduates."

"Planning ahead…good."

I compared two pairs of shoes – Christian Louboutin sling-backs and Jimmy Choo sandals. Dad chuckled, "That mother of yours, she was one of a kind, wasn't she."

"She sure was," I replied. "She certainly had style."

**EPOV**

There was the feeling in the pit of my stomach – a gnawing that was unnecessary but unstoppable. Bella was spending the night in Forks, nine hours away from me. And she was going to La Push tonight. It was inevitable that she would run into Jacob. I trusted Bella, but that kid gave me a weird vibe.

And it was clear that he wasn't going to get over Bella anytime soon. I wish he would just find a girlfriend already. No one could ever replace my Angel, but he had to try – quickly.

Alice was buzzing around my ear talking about wedding plans. Bella needed to come back so I wouldn't have to endure this. Yes, I care about my wedding more than anything – but I couldn't take anymore questions from Alice about flower arrangements and color swatches. I wanted to rip her arms off and beat her with them.

"OK, so how do you want your tux to look?" Alice asked as we sat at the Pita Pit with Jasper.

He gave me a smirk. "Yeah, Cullen…you want a cummerbund with that?"

I flipped him off and turned back to Alice, "I don't care, as long as it fits."

"Come on, Edward, be cooperative. You don't want me to tell Bella you're being a bad boy, do you?"

"Actually, that'd be great," I quipped, "She'd have to punish me good then."

Jasper laughed as Alice grimaced, "OK, I'll just erase that image. Now, this is a Calvin Klein, two-button blazer with a satin trim. This will look good on you and all the groomsmen, and you can wear a different color from the rest – you'll be in silver while the groomsmen will be in dark blue."

"Are those our colors?" I asked as I took a bite of my pita.

"Edward? You don't even know the colors of your wedding?" Alice chided.

"Well…Bella and I don't talk about these things," I said. "Besides, we aren't getting married until next May."

"It's never too soon," Alice said. "I've been planning my wedding since I was about ten years old."

"That's because you're a freak!" I shouted with a mouth full of steak and lettuce.

She stuck her tongue out at me and turned to Jasper, "You like the tuxes, right?"

He shot a look at me, "Sure, they're nice."

"You know, for our wedding I was thinking you'd wear this," she said as she turned the page of her catalog and pointed to something. I couldn't suppress my snicker.

"Our wedding?" He asked.

"Of course," she said, "I was thinking we should make it a winter wedding, next December."

Jasper had a full-on, deer-in-the-headlights expression at this point. He was certainly at a loss for words.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked him.

"Uh…." He droned for about a minute.

"I think what Jasper's trying to say is that this is too much wedding talk for one day," I jumped in, "Let's save some for later."

I winked at Jasper who mouthed a 'thank you' my way.

**BPOV**

The bonfire started at 8 p.m., and Dad, Sue and I showed up a little afterward. I walked behind the two lovebirds as they strolled over, hand in hand. I wondered if the people around here were used to seeing them like this.

I sat down on a log next to them as the Quileute boys began to throw driftwood on the fire. It turned the flames a brilliant blue and I watched in wonder as the streams of blue, orange and red intertwined in the air.

The heat from the fire combined with my dazed awe was already making me sleepy. I rested my head on Dad's shoulder and began to nod off when I felt a nudge on my opposite shoulder. I opened one eye and saw Jacob sitting next to me.

He handed me a metal stick with a marshmallow on the end of it, "Hungry?"

I sat up straight and took the stick, "Thanks – do we have chocolate bars and graham crackers?"

"Of course," he replied, "This wouldn't be a La Push bonfire without the essentials."

I grinned as I turned the marshmallow around in the fire, watching it turn a crispy brown. I pulled it from the flame and blew out the tiny fire that emanated off of it.

"So…you and what's-his-name are getting married?"

"Yep," I said, not wanting to have this conversation with him.

"When's the date?" He asked as he picked his marshmallow off of the stick.

"Next May," I said. "We haven't picked an exact day yet."

"Nice," he quipped. "Am I invited?"

"Sure…it's going to be in Seattle."

"I think I can make the trip," he said as he turned to me and smirked.

I stuffed my first marshmallow in my mouth and got up to get another one. I went to the table with all the fixings on it and found Billy sitting there talking to the Uleys and the Atearas. They all – except Billy – looked at me with disdain. No one liked the fact that I dumped Jacob, and now they all seemed to hate me because not only was I seeing someone else, but I was marrying him.

Word travels fast around here.

I grabbed a marshmallow, a chocolate bar and some graham crackers and walked back to the log to sit. Jacob sensed my mood swing.

"What's up?"

"I just past the La Push tribunal back there, I think they want to tar and feather me."

He looked back to the table and grinned, "They're protective of me. Can you blame them?"

"No, I guess not."

I made my s'more as Jacob got up to grab something. I took a bite out of the chocolaty sandwich as I felt another nudge on my shoulder. Jacob handed me a drink and I put it between my knees.

He popped open the top of his drink and I noticed he was drinking a Bud Lite.

"Jacob, who gave you a beer?"

"I grabbed it from the cooler," he replied as he took a swig.

I looked down at the drink he handed me and saw it was a beer as well. I put it on the ground as Dad walked up.

"Is it Miller time already Bells?" He laughed.

"Ha ha, Jacob gave it to me," I said, handing the can to him.

"You sure you don't want it?"

"No, I'm not a beer drinker."

"Good, bad habit to get into," he said, popping the top.

I chuckled and shook my head. Jacob was gazing at me thoughtfully.

"You know I am happy for you, right?" He asked.

"I know," I said, putting my head on his shoulder. "Thanks."

He kissed the top of my head and toasted another marshmallow.

**Christmas (A/N skipping ahead a bit, sorry) **

**EPOV**

Considering the events of the past year – the engagement, Rosalie's pregnancy and Renee's death – I had to make this Christmas one to remember for Bella. I couldn't raid Bergdorf Goodman's like her mother did last year, but I want this to be special.

Bella had gone overboard buying baby gifts for Rosalie and Emmett. They are having a boy, Ethan, in January, and Bella had bought a wardrobe's worth of baby clothes, a stroller, several toys and a t-shirt for Emmett that said "#1 Dad." **(A/N, my brother has this shirt, it's precious)**

Bella is almost as excited about this as Emmett and Rosalie are. And I'm surprised at how happy I am to see her like this. It's a big statement for me, the former player, that I'm imagining my future wife as a mother without any hint of panic, whatsoever.

We all met at Charlie's again for the holiday, but this time he didn't seem to mind that I stayed in Bella's room with her. It's not like we were able to do anything more than make out, anyway.

Emmett and Rosalie showed up before us this time, and Rose is officially the size of the house – although, I knew mentioning that to her was tantamount to a death sentence. Bella immediately rushed to Rosalie and patted her bulging tummy.

"Hello Ethan! How's my nephew? All warm and toasty in there? When are you going to come out? Your Aunt Bella wants to see you!"

"I've been asking him that question since November," Rosalie quipped as she sat on the couch and rubbed her stomach.

We had our big Christmas Eve dinner without all the fanfare of last year. But, this time the Clearwaters joined us. Seth sat next to me and asked me a million questions about how I'm studying to be a doctor – I guess his admiration of Emmett has transferred to me.

I woke up early and snuck out of bed, careful to not wake Bella up. I went down to the tree and placed the small box in front of the tree: a white box covered in lace and strings of real pearls – my mom did the wrapping.

I was able to get back into bed before Bella was up. I was about to drift off to sleep again when she started kissing my neck softly. I moaned lightly and tilted my head to give her better access.

"Merry Christmas, Angel," I said as she moved towards my lips.

"Merry Christmas," she replied as we lay next to each other and gazed in each other's eyes.

We held each other close and brushed our noses together. I moved in for a kiss when someone knocked on the door.

"Bella, Edward? Are you two awake?" It was Seth.

"Yeah, we'll be down in a second," I said.

We both sighed and got up to head downstairs. Rosalie was already planted in an easy chair and Emmett was under the tree, playing Santa.

"He's just enjoying his last bit of childishness before he's officially a father," Rose smirked.

Emmett passed out the presents; he stopped at the white package first.

"Wow, this one is nice. And it's for…Bella."

"Me?" She asked.

He placed it in her lap and she took the card off of the top. She turned to me.

"What is this?"

"Open it."

She pulled the bows open and took the top off. Her eyes widened and brimmed slightly with tears.

"It's beautiful," she said. "But, why?"

She took the tiara out and held it up. It was covered in diamonds, but it wasn't too ostentatious. I smiled.

"It was my mother's," I said. "She wore it at her wedding and she wanted you to have it for our wedding."

She turned to me and smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek, "I'll have to remember to thank her when I see her."

We finished opening presents and Bella got up to start making breakfast. Suddenly, Rosalie let out a yelp and clutched her stomach.

"Rose," Emmett yelled, "What's wrong?"

"I think my water broke," she said.  
"What? We have another month!"

"I don't think the baby cares!"

"Let's get her to the hospital, Em," Charlie said.

**BPOV**

We all packed into the cars and got Rosalie to the hospital. They got her into a room and we all sat around waiting for a doctor to finally come check on her. All the men, except Emmett, left the room as he examined her and said she was dilated three centimeters.

"How far apart are your contractions, Mrs. Swan?" The doctor asked as he checked her blood pressure.

"Um…ten minutes, maybe."

"Good, good. Well, I'll come back and check on you in about a half an hour, unless you begin to progress quicker than expected."

"But, how did I go into labor this early?" She asked.

"Well, it could be due to excessive anxiety. Have you been stressed lately?"

"A bit, but isn't every first-time mother?"

"I guess so," he laughed. "But, it's nothing to worry about. You're not excessively premature. According to your records, you were due on January 20th, so this is your 34th week of pregnancy. Could have been worse, you could have had the baby two or three months ago."

Rosalie chuckled and nodded as the doctor left. I held her hand, "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Edward was looking a little green; you should go check on him."

"OK," I said, patting her hand and walking into the waiting area.

Edward was sitting there, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. I sat beside him and broke him from his trance.

"Hey you, feeling OK?"

"Yeah," he replied as he put an arm around me, "How's Rose?"

"Good, the doctor said it shouldn't be long – maybe an hour or so."

"Wow, that fast?"

"I guess that's the way premature birth's go," I shrugged.

His face got worried again.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm just thinking about how Emmett must be feeling right now. I mean, I'd be worried sick if you go into premature labor when you have one of our children."

The way he said that sent a warm sensation down my spine. Our children – we hadn't discussed it, but it just seemed to be kind of inevitable. You get married, you have kids. I put my hand in his and rested my head on his shoulder.

"What do you want to name our kids?" He asked out of nowhere.

"I don't know," I said. "How about after our parents – you know, like putting one of their names as a middle name or something?"

"How about Ella Renee for a girl?"

"That's nice," I said. "Where did you get Ella from?"

"My grandmother," he said, "My mom's mom."

"I like it."

Two hours later, Rosalie was lying in a hospital bed holding little Ethan Michael. He had Emmett's curly hair already – though it was blond like Rosalie. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, so I wasn't sure of the color.

But he was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. **(A/N my first thoughts upon seeing my nephew, Braden)**

**So, there's one more little Swan in the world! Yay! Sorry I'm skipping ahead so fast, but I figure they're lives are moving faster now, so I should adjust accordingly.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Woo-Hoo Woo-Hoo! Over 400 reviews!! Ya'll rock!**

**March**

**BPOV**

With my wedding just two months away and finals looming just around the corner, I was sure I wasn't going to bother making plans for Spring Break. I was just going to knuckle down and get some work done.

Although, the doldrums of late winter were starting to get to me. Add to that the fact that I forgot to go back to Forks back in January. I was going to lay some flowers on Mom's grave, but I spaced it out. I think a part of me did it on purpose, too. I just want to put the past behind me.

I was going to catch a bus back home, Edward wasn't supposed to be off of work until 7 tonight, so I was going to catch up on reading for my classes and finish a photo assignment. I sat at the bus stop just off of campus and waited with my nose in my book when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned in the direction the tap came from, but there wasn't anybody there. I heard a chuckle from behind me, "That was too easy."

I didn't want to turn back around, because he would be there—James, the bane of my existence for the past year and a half. I scooted away from him and went back to my reading. He was undeterred, as usual.

"Now, now, Miss Swan...or should I say Mrs. Cullen?"

I ignored him.

"Tsk, such coldness. You've always seemed like such a bright, happy person."

I imagined my left shoulder was a polar ice cap, and hoped he would eventually get the picture. I could feel his eyes burning holes in me, though. He was not going away any time soon. But that didn't mean I had to talk to him.

Suddenly, he reached down by my feet and grabbed my camera bag.

"Hmmm, tools of the trade, Ansel Adams?"

"Give that back!" I yelled as I tried to snatch the bag from him.

He held up a hand and kept me at arm's length, "I won't hurt it...maybe..."

I tried to tussle with him to get my camera back, but he's stronger and faster than me. I debated calling Edward, but it seemed childish to drag my fiancé out of work to take care of a schoolyard bully—even if he'd gladly jump in his car to come to my rescue, especially considering the bully is James.

And I have to admit, I'd like to see him get his jaw broken a second time, no matter how mean that sounds.

He had pulled my camera out of the bag and was looking through the viewfinder.

"Hey," he said. "I can't see anything!"

I took advantage of his distracted state and grabbed my camera, "That's because the lens cap is still on, douche bag."

He pretended to be shocked at my actions, "Isabella Swan, that was not very nice."

"Bite me," I spat back, "Why won't you just leave me alone? It's clear that I don't want to have anything to do with you, and neither does Edward. So, why don't you just find someone else to torment. Or, better yet, get a life!!"

He stood back and looked at me, "Because it gets to you...and I like that. You see, if you had continued to ignore me, I would have just walked away and left you alone...eventually. But, you can't just ignore me, at least not for long. So, as long as you keep reacting, I'll keep coming at you—because I get a kick out of it."

I gazed at him in disbelief, "Are you serious? You're fucking sick!"

"I never said I wasn't," he said with a sadistic grin.

My bus came by just in the nick of time. I got on and sat down, and as the bus took off, I turned to see he was still standing there, staring as if he could see through the metal of the bus right to me. I couldn't wait to move to Seattle.

I had finished my reading and found the perfect subject for my photo project—a little hummingbird that was buzzing around a birdfeeder in our backyard. He was mostly green with a brilliant, fuchsia head. I looked it up to find he was an Anna's Hummingbird, very common on the west coast of America.

I decided to make macaroni and cheese from scratch for dinner. I put on a pot of water to cook the pasta around 6:30 and looked in the fridge to find leftover cheddar and gruyere. Score!

The water was just coming to a boil when Edward walked in.

"You're home early!" I cried happily as I jumped into his arms, forgetting about the pot of boiling water.

He held me tight as I wrapped my legs around him.

"It's amazing how lucky I am," he noted. "How many men get to come home to somebody so happy to see them?"

I giggled as he set me back down. I walked back into the kitchen to carefully pour the macaroni into the pot.

"Mac'n'Cheese?" He asked.

"Yup, but not just any old mac'n'cheese, I'm making it with sharp cheddar and gruyere."

"Oooo, fancy," he quipped.

Once the macaroni was in, I put the timer on for 10 minutes. I turned and he was right behind me; he lifted me up and turned to set me on the counter behind him. He attacked my lips with his own and his hands found their way to the hem of my shirt. He lifted it over my head and threw it to the floor.

His hands returned to my body and slowly trailed down to the bottom of my skirt. He inched his way up slowly, making my skin tingle as his fingers brushed against me. I reached down and grabbed the waistband of his jeans, pulling his pelvis closer to mine. Our lips never parted as I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. I pushed them to the floor and then went for his boxers, which I pushed down just far enough to have access to him as his fingers found my center and gently pushed the fabric of my panties aside.

It wasn't the most romantic sex we ever had, but there was something so erotic about having him take me on a countertop, knowing we had ten minutes to finish the act before I had to get back to making dinner. It was like some housewife's ultimate fantasy or something.

I put my shirt back on as the timer beeped and went to drain the pasta as he stood there, still just in his boxers.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" I asked as I pour the pasta and water into a colander in the sink.

"Why, I thought you liked me in just my boxers."

"I do," I said. "But, it's not even 7:30 yet, and you look like you're ready for bed."

"Well," he began thoughtfully, "How long will dinner take?"

"I'm just going to mix the cheese in this and cover it with some bread crumbs then put it under the broiler for a couple minutes."

I turned to him and he was biting his lip like he was trying not to laugh.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing...I just love it when you get all Martha Stewart."

"Really?" I asked in my best Martha, upper-crusty, Connecticut accent. "Do you want me to talk like this all night, then?"

"No," he laughed, "But maybe you should wear an apron to bed or something...that could be hot."

"Yeah, I'll think about," I replied, rolling my eyes.

I mixed the grated cheese in with the pasta, and added a little crème fraise to make it thicker. Then I put the bread crumbs on and put it under the broiler. I turned around and Edward had put his pants back on.

I smiled, "Glad to see you're not going to deprive me off your naked chest."

"Never."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him in for a kiss. After a moment, he pulled back and smiled, "I have a surprise for you."

I eyed him suspiciously, "What? It's not more jewelry is it? Because I now officially have more jewelry then I can wear in a lifetime."

"No, no jewelry," he grinned, "It's better."

He grabbed my hand and took me into the room we turned into an office. He sat me down in the computer chair and pointed to the monitor. "Right there."

I looked at the web page he had up and my jaw almost hit the keyboard—there was a shot of a beautiful island surrounded by clear, blue water. It was one of those stereotypical, island getaway shots, but it was no less stunning. I turned to Edward.

"Where is this?"

"Fiji," he replied, "My parents' friends have a timeshare there. And...they're letting us use it over Spring Break."

"What?"

"It's on Denarau Island, and we leave on March 27."

"B...but I have so much work to do!" I said. "I don't think I have time to go on Spring Break."

"Bella, you've been burying yourself in school work, you deserve this," he said.

"No, I don't."

"Well...then don't I deserve it?"

"Yes."

"Then that settles it," he lifted me up and slid onto the chair under me, sitting me on his lap. "I've been working hard at the hospital and at school, and my parents friends offered this to me and my fiancé. I'm not going there without you."

"Edward..."

"No arguments! We're going."

"Why don't we just wait for our honeymoon and go then?"

"I have something else in mind for that," he said with a secretive smile. "For now, we're going to Fiji—without any of those other wild and crazy college Spring Breakers."

**EPOV**

The plane ride took about 22 hours with a lay-over at LAX, but it was worth it to see the look on Bella's face when we arrived on the island. The timeshare complex was right on the beach, but still featured a pool with a tiki bar that was generally occupied by young, single executives looking to score with visiting socialites or divorced women spending the week getting over being dumped as a "trophy wife."

I didn't mind that it wasn't as secluded as I would have liked—this is a resort, after all—I just decided to keep Bella away from all that. We arrived and went straight to the condo. I liked that we would be able to cook for ourselves instead of relying on the local restaurants populated by the aforementioned miscreants.

Once in our room, Bella threw her bags down and flopped on the bed.

"That. Took. Forever!!"

"It wasn't that bad," I countered.

"Wasn't that bad? Were we on the same flight? Did yours not take 22 hours?"

"OK, point taken."

She kicked her shoes off and scooted to the middle of the bed and curled into a ball. She looked so cute laying there—my Angel. I sat down and took my shoes off so I could join her. As I curled my body protectively around hers, I looked down to see she was already starting to breathe slowly and shallowly. I guess we're not going anywhere until tomorrow.

It was about 8 p.m. anyway. I was glad I got us a later flight, that way we showed up later in the day so we could hopefully sleep and avoid jet lag as much as possible. I rested my chin on her head and began to doze off myself.

I had nice, warm dreams about Bella all night.

In one of the dreams, she was sitting on my lap, kissing me passionately. She sucked and bit at my lips as she wound her hands in my hair. I just sat there and enjoyed her attention. It wasn't as if I didn't want to respond, but I couldn't somehow. It was like my arms were made out of lead.

Then she kissed her way down my body and tugged my pants and boxers off in one fell swoop. I couldn't do anything; I just lay there as she licked up and down my shaft.

It was so strange, as she took as much of me as she could into her mouth, I could swear I could actually feel the sensation. I began to slowly regain consciousness to find that it wasn't a dream. There she was, my Bella, my Angel, taking me in her sweet, warm mouth. She hadn't noticed I had woken up yet, so I decided to close my eyes and concentrate on what she was doing.

She hadn't done this since that night I refused to cum in her mouth, mostly because I was always so concerned with giving her pleasure. I could feel that pressure start to build again and I couldn't pretend to be asleep anymore. Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed Bella's shoulder and forced her on to her back next to me. She had already stripped down to her t-shirt and panties, and I tore them both off in two quick rips.

I entered her and began to buck my hips wildly as my thumb found its way to her clit. I rubbed it vigorously until she was to the same pinnacle that I was. She was screaming my name by the time I poured into her and collapsed against her on the bed. Damn! That was the greatest wake up call ever.

I was about to pull away and tell her so when I saw her face. She looked upset.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

"Why did you have to take over?" She asked. "I was trying to do something for you, and you make it into something about me."

"I'm sorry, Angel, I didn't mean to. I just got a little overexcited."

She gave me a stern look and held my face between her hands, "Promise me, right now, that next time I do that, you'll let me finish what I started."

"I promise."

**BPOV**

We decided to spend our first day wandering the island, just to see the sights and maybe find things we could come back and do later. We walked along beaches and sat in the sun just talking and enjoying being close to one another. I was wearing a sarong over a bikini all day, and when we sat on the beach near our hotel, I got the sudden urge to strip off the cover-up and run into the ocean.

Edward was mid-sentence when I just took off. I tore the sarong from my body and tossed it aside as I ran and jumped head-first into the water as soon as it was a little over mid-way up my thigh.

I broke the surface to find Edward walking gingerly towards me. Where I stood, the water came up to my chest. I started to move away from him when he reached for me – he kept coming, undeterred.

"Oh, so we're going to play that game, are we?" He asked as I kept ducking just out of his reach.

"Uh-huh."

"OK," he replied as he reared back and pounced. He tackled me before I had a chance to get out of the way and took me under.

When he brought me back up, he had me slung over his shoulder and he was already starting for the shore.

"Hey! No fair!" I cried.

"No, Bella dearest, what isn't fair is teasing your beloved like that. Stripping off your cover and running into the water like that – you looked so delicious my head almost exploded."

"Well, you do deserve it, you know. After this morning…"

"Yeah, I know."

"So," I said as he set me on the sand and lay beside me, "What do you want to do now?"

He looked down towards his board shorts to a very visible tent that was poking out from the crotch area. "I don't think I should do anything until I get this taken care of."

"Well, that water is nice and cold. Why don't you wade around for a while?"

"Cruel woman."

"Insatiable man."

**So, I want to get to the wedding soon. I haven't decided how long I will take this one – but I can't imagine it will be too much longer.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Early May**

**EPOV**

My graduation day – it almost feels like it's coming too soon, and yet, not soon enough. Now that I was done with this place, and so was Bella, we were going to get married, move to Seattle and start our lives together.

My parents came out to see me, and Alice had driven out a few days earlier, right after her finals were over, to stay with Jasper. Now he and I were standing just outside Beasley Coliseum, waiting to walk in and start the ceremony.

I had to admit that there are things I'll miss here in Pullman—some professors, some friends, many of my fraternity brothers and the various places where we made some quality memories. I'd miss my old room in the fraternity house, but only because of the nights I spent there with Bella. Especially that night where she became mine completely.

I was almost completely lost in that thought when someone nudged me and hissed, "It's our row's turn."

I saw that my row of graduates was standing up to receive our diplomas, and I jumped to my feet. I followed the other kids, most of whom I've never met, up onto the stage and waited to hand my name card to the woman reading names to the audience.

"Edward Anthony Cullen," she said.

My friends and family were strategically placed near the front of the stage, and they erupted into cheers. A few of my younger, rowdier fraternity brothers had brought cowbells. I ducked my head and pretended I didn't know them. They repeated the process for Jasper and I turned to see Alice standing on her chair, whistling loudly. Nice to know where I stand with her in comparison to Jasper.

Then the dean walked up and gave us the spiel about our time at WSU coming to a close, and had us shift our tassels to the other side of our hats. Then he finally told us to stand, face our families and friends, and allowed us to toss our hats in the air.

I let my fellow students have the pleasure of throwing pointy objects into the air, while I walked into the audience and found my way to Bella and my parents. My Angel rushed into my arms and I spun her around in the air.

I set her back down, but kept my arm wrapped around her waist. I wasn't about to let her get lost in this crowd. Mostly because I wasn't sure where James might be lurking.

Charlie, Sue, Seth, Emmett, Rosalie and Ethan were seated next to my parents. I was surprised that all of the excitement didn't seem to bother Ethan all that much. Though, from what Emmett said, he's a very quiet baby—just like his dad was.

Bella took her nephew while the rest of her family gave me hugs and congratulations. I thanked them all genuinely, but out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing Bella there with Ethan. She was holding him close to her and bouncing him gently. He lifted his face and smiled at her and she kissed him on the tip of his nose—causing him to laugh.

I got lost again in thoughts of Bella when Emmett clapped a giant hand on my shoulder.

"Come on, Cullen, we're hungry! Where's the graduation dinner going to be?"

"I don't know," I said, "Ask Jasper, it's his graduation, too."

Jasper rolled his eyes at me, "You know I don't care either."

"Well, if neither one of you care, then I guess I'm going to have to make the crucial decision," Emmett said.

He sat down put his chin on his fist dramatically as Rosalie rolled her eyes and handed a bottle to Bella.

Bella sat in the nearest chair and began feeding Ethan. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders; she turned to me and smiled. I kissed her lips gently before she turned back to focus on Ethan.

I looked up and saw that my parents were gazing at us in awe. My mom looked like she was going to cry.

"I've got it!" Emmett yelled, breaking up our beautiful moment. "Pete's!"

"Em, we're not going to the same old bar and grill we always go to for Edward and Jasper's graduation," Rosalie said.

"Why not?" He asked. "That's what we did for mine."

"Well, that's you," Rosalie teased, "Hey! Let's go to that Red Door restaurant in Moscow."

"That's too fancy," Emmett argued.

"It's perfect," I said, trying to stop the argument, "Right Jasper?"

"Yup, perfect, let's go!"

We got to the restaurant and Bella continued to coo over Ethan as she carried him inside, eliciting more laughs and smiles from him. I'd be jealous, if I wasn't so enthralled by the whole scene. Seeing the woman whom I would be married to in just a couple weeks with a baby – giving me a preview of her with our children – it gave me this warm feeling.

She sat him in his car seat next to Emmett and I managed to grab her attention again before our server showed up. I kissed her just below her ear and she turned to me and smiled. She kissed me softly before turning to give the server her drink order.

As she turned, I took in everything about her at this very moment. Her soft, brown hair was pulled up off of her shoulders; her long neck elegantly turned as her body stayed facing mine, her hand still on my knee. I noticed she wore a soft, satin dress in a deep blue that hit just above her knee and had a neckline that let me see just a hint of the curve of her breasts.

She was angelic. She always is – but today she seemed to glow a little more brightly. Once everyone else was in quiet conversation, she leaned into me and I wrapped my arms around her. We ate and Charlie bought a bottle of wine, which we all shared – even Bella, who won't be 21 until September.

Charlie stood up and made a toast.

"Well, here's to Edward and Jasper, who both finished college – in only four years no less. Boys, may your lives be full of happiness and success."

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to us. Bella turned and kissed me gently.

"I guess Edward has a head start on the happiness thing," Charlie added, "Considering he's marrying my daughter."

I raised my glass to his, "Here, here!"

We finished our celebrations and drove back to Pullman. My parents, along with Charlie and Sue, were staying at the Holiday Inn. Bella hugged her dad and Sue before they walked up to their room. My parents hung back and visited with me and Bella for a few minutes.

"So, excited for the big day?" My dad asked, holding my mother just as close as I held Bella.

"Yup," I replied, "Although, I think two weeks is too long."

"We've been waiting for more than a year," Bella countered. "I think you can wait two weeks."

"Oh really? Can you?" I asked.

She didn't have an answer. I leaned in and kissed her neck as my mother watched us with a dreamy look in her eye – the same look she had when she watched me and Bella with Ethan. She didn't say anything, just gave Bella and I a big kiss and hug before they walked up to their room.

Bella and I drove back to our house and I flopped down on the couch. Bella sat next to me and began rubbing my shoulders.

"Mmmm," I moaned, "This was a long day."

"Aw, poor baby," she whispered in my ear.

She had removed her black pumps and was curled up next to me as close as she could get. I tilted my head back and gazed at her longingly.

"Let's go to bed," I said. "I'm tired."

"OK," she said. "But…I wanted to discuss something with you."

"What?"

She looked down at her lap and bit her lip. She dropped her hands and looked back up at me meaningfully.

"Um…I think we should…I don't know…lay off."

"Lay off? Of what?"

"…Sex," she said. "Until the wedding night – I think we should save ourselves."

I turned and beheld her. She was still biting her lower lip and avoiding my glance, like she was embarrassed. I didn't want her to feel like asking for this was something to be embarrassed about.

"Hey, if that's what you want, then it's done," I said. "We'll wait for our wedding night."

"Really?" She asked, burying her head in my chest.

"Whatever you want, Angel," I replied.

She lifted her head, "Let's wait – it'll make the wedding night that much more special."

**BPOV**

**Saturday, May 29, 2010**

I woke up at 8 a.m. to the sound of Alice pounding against my door.

"Bella! Wake up! We're going to be late to the spa!!"

We were staying at Alexander's Country Inn, a hotel and resort where we would have the wedding and reception all in one. Alice had planned everything to the smallest detail. She, Rosalie, Esme, Sue and I would go to the day spa and get pampered before the wedding, which will take place at 3 p.m., followed the wedding reception. There are about 30 people to come to this wedding, and I'm sure I don't know half of them.

I rolled out of bed and shuffled down the hall with Alice. There was no point in getting dressed, I was just going to be put in some sort of seaweed wrap and have to be hosed down later, anyway.

When I got there, the first treatment they gave me was a hot stone massage, which I enjoyed immensely. Then I was given a Victorian Garden Salt Glow treatment that was to exfoliate all the dead skin from my body with a salt rub. It wasn't as pleasant, but Alice assured me it would make me look more radiant in the long run.

Finally, they performed the inevitable. They wrapped me in some kind of seaweed – but first, they covered my body in mud that had – according to the employees – been infused with herbs that would clear out my pores. It smelled awful, but at least they gave me another massage afterward.

It took from 9 a.m. to noon for the women at the spa to get through their ministrations. And that didn't include the stuff I hated most – hair and make up.

Alice practically pushed me into the salon part of the spa, where more women in brightly colored uniforms were waiting to torture my hair within an inch of its life. I was taken to get a scalp massage, which I enjoyed even more than the full body massage, while my hair was washed and conditioned.

I tried to block out the tugging and curling of my hair. Alice was dancing around, directing the hairdressers in their duties. I was surprised no one spun around and took a swing at her.

I finally opened my eyes when the woman said she was done. She had curled my hair into loose waves and pulled a few strands back out of my face. It looked so romantic, like something off the cover of a book. I smiled and nodded at Alice who clapped and jumped around.

"It's perfect!" She cried.

Next, the women got to work on my makeup. Alice said they were using some kind of makeup that won't come off, even if I cry, which I know I will. She kept it simple, though, focusing mostly on the eyes. I had a thick line of eyeliner on, but little else. It had a retro flair to it, and I really liked it.

They finished up around 1:30, giving me and Alice enough time to go back upstairs and get me into my dress. I let Alice talk me into a mermaid-style dress with a halter top. But, as she helped me zip into it and put my veil on, I could see there was no other dress that would make me feel as beautiful as I do right now.

Of course, a lot of that had to do with the fact that I was marrying the most amazing man in the world. I sat on the bed as Alice put her bridesmaid dress on. It was ice blue and had a plunging neckline. She and Rosalie would be wearing these dresses while Esme and Sue would wear the same color in a longer style.

I looked up and saw myself in the mirror again. Just two years ago, I had broken up with Jacob and wasn't sure what my future held for me. Now, I was getting married and about to start my new life with Edward. I took a deep breath and sighed as the other three walked in to get ready.

I smiled at Esme and she sat down on the bed next to me, "Are you ready, dearest?"

"Yes," I whispered, "But, I'm still nervous."

"That's to be expected," she said. "I was so nervous when I married Carlisle. I couldn't eat anything until the reception…and our wedding was in the evening!"

"That's how I feel right now," I said.

"Don't worry," she replied as she put her arm around me, "Once you get up to that alter, you'll know feel one hundred percent better."

I nodded and leaned my forehead against hers.

"Hey, watch it, you'll ruin the makeup," Alice chided.

We laughed and Esme helped me up. No one could see my feet, so I didn't know why Alice insisted on me wearing stilettos. I realize Edward towers over me by almost a foot, but I like that.

The girls helped me down to the first floor where Dad was waiting to lead me outside and down the aisle.

"Hey kiddo," he said as he took both my hands. "You ready?"

"Absolutely."

The ceremony was surprisingly brief. I could have sworn that Emmett and Rosalie's took longer than ours, but they had the same service as we did. It seemed like only a moment after Dad placed my hand into Edward's that the pastor told him he may kiss the bride.

He lifted my veil and planted a soft, chaste kiss on my lips. He smiled and winked at me afterwards as if to say there was a lot more where that came from.

And there was, after the reception, Edward took me to one of the guest houses on the property. It was made to house six people, but Edward reserved it just for us. He scooped me up into his arms and he carried me up to the master bedroom where a large bed waited for us. He placed me down in the middle of the bed and proceeded to take my shoes off.

"Ridiculous shoes," he snorted, "Alice's doing, I assume?"

I nodded.

I sat up and reached for the zipper on my dress, but he walked up behind me and moved my hands, "That's my job, Angel."

He unzipped the dress and I stood up next to the bed. I pulled the halter straps over my head and then let the gown fall to the floor. Edward was at my side in the blink of an eye.

"No bra?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"You kept it simple under this dress," he said with a sly smile, "I'm surprised Alice let you get away with that."

"She lets me have some freedom," I said.

He returned me back to the bed and took a rose from the vase on the bedside table. He ran the soft petals up and down both of my legs slowly as trailed my fingernails up and down his bare arm. He stopped the rose at the apex of my legs and brushed it softly over my clit, causing me to arch my back in response. Then he trailed the rose further upward, he circled it round the nipple on my left breast for a moment before switching to the other side.

All the while, I was moaning softly as he tortured me with a flower. When I felt the satiny petals pull away from my body, I opened my eyes to see him gazing at me. He rolled over the top of my and braced himself on his elbows.

"So, Mrs. Cullen, we've waited for two weeks for this night," he said with a grin, "What do you want your husband to do to you?"

"Everything…" I whispered.

"As you wish."

He stood to remove the rest of his clothing and returned to me. His lips went immediately for my breasts and I arched towards him as he sucked and nibbled at them. His hands traveled down to my panties and his fingers slipped under the waistband to find my slit. He pumped his right index and middle fingers in and out of my as he continued to lavish attention on my breasts.

I grabbed his hair and kept his head hovering over my chest as my legs instinctively spread to give him better access to my core. It had been too long – this self-imposed abstinence, but it was worth it. We were both so hungry, we could think of nothing else but devouring each other whole.

I felt his erection press against my left leg and began to whimper, "I want you in me."

He lifted his head from my breast and grinned at me, "Patience Angel."

"No! Now!"

"You see," he quipped, "I knew that saving ourselves for that wedding night would be dangerous. We're both too horny for words."

I reached down and took his cock in my hand. I wanted him inside of me and I wasn't feeling like being patient anymore.

He positioned himself above me, but he hesitated. He looked at me like he wanted to discuss something first.

"Bella, do you take that birth control every day?"

"Of course," I replied, "Like clockwork – every morning with my vitamins. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," he said. "It's just that…I'm curious. When are you going to stop taking them?"

"Why would I stop taking them?"

He sighed, "So we can have a baby."

I was at a loss for words. I mean, I know we were going to have children eventually – I wanted that more than anything. But, I thought we'd wait a couple of years.

"Do…do you really want me to stop taking birth control?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Ever since I saw you with Ethan, the way you hold him and play with him, I've wanted us to have a baby as soon as possible."

"Really?"

He nodded.

It brought a tear to my eye to think that he could possibly want a baby more than I did. I would think most guys would avoid the subject.

"OK," I said. "As of tomorrow, I'm off birth control."

He grinned, "I can't wait until you have my baby, Angel."

He entered me and we made slow, passionate love for the next four hours. I knew there should have been a part of me that wanted to refuse – to say I'm too young to have a baby. But I was too in love with Edward to believe that. And I knew that, no matter what, we'd be taken care of, and our baby would be loved.

We didn't sleep at all that night. When we weren't making love, we were talking about what we would name our children. We watched the sun come up together until a server brought us our breakfast.

We made love one more time in the shower before Edward and I were off to the airport for our honeymoon. He kept me in suspense, even as we boarded the plane.

"Let's just say, it's some place you've said you always want to go."

**Where's the honeymoon? You'll have to find out next time…**


	25. Chapter 25

**The honeymoon**

**EPOV**

It wasn't hard to choose a place to take Bella for our honeymoon. She has said over and over again that she wanted to see Paris, so it was the only option in my mind. I invested in some over-the-counter sleeping aids so we could enjoy some much needed sleep on our 10-plus hour flight.

I gave her some noise reducing headphones to wear during most of our journey so she couldn't hear where our destination was. I took them off her after she fell asleep.

I came to an hour before we were meant to land. Bella was still sleeping, curled up next to me. I sprung for the first-class seats so we could lean all the way back and push the armrests out of our way. A flight attendant came by and asked if I wanted some coffee.

"Sure, make it two; I think she'll want some when she wakes up."

I took the coffees as Bella was making her cute little waking up noises. She opened one eye and looked at me.

"Are we there yet?"

"An hour away," I said.

"Are you going to tell me where we're headed?"

"Nope, you'll see when we get there."

"You know, I could just ask the stewardess or something."

I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, "You'd never do that. You may say you don't like surprises, but I know better. You want to be surprised."

She sighed, "Will you at least tell me what continent we're on?"

I shook my head as she put her seat up and took her coffee. We sipped silently as we waited to hear that we would be landing shortly. We exited the plane and Bella turned to look for something that might tell her where we are.

There was a sign above emblazoned with the word 'Bienvenue.'

"Paris?!" She cried.

I smiled and nodded. She threw her arms around me as the other passengers tried to maneuver around us. Some smiled, while others threw us dirty looks for blocking their way.

"Edward! This is the greatest present ever."

"Not quite," I replied, "Nothing could ever be greater than being married to you."

She smirked, "You're biased."

"I am indeed."

A shuttle took us to our hotel. Our suite had a balcony, just like I had requested. I walked out on it to make sure it had the view I wanted—and was greeted by the Eiffel Tower. Bella followed me outside, "Oh my god, Edward! I can't believe you found such a great room! This is beyond perfect."

"Only the best for you," I replied. "So, what do you want to see first?"

"Well, I can see the thing I've been waiting my whole life to see right from my hotel window."

She gazed lovingly at the tower. I grinned at her awe-struck expression.

"Do I have competition?"

"No," she replied, "It's just a flirtation...it will never last."

I pulled her into my arms and we enjoyed the view together until I heard someone cough softly behind me. It was the bellhop who was waiting a bit impatiently for his tip. I handed him 50 euros and he disappeared quickly.

Bella was still leaning against the balcony railing, "Let's just stay in today. We can go see the sights tomorrow."

I rested my chin on her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her again, "Whatever you want."

She turned to kiss my left temple and I moved her back into the room. We could leave the unpacking for later – right now, all I wanted was Bella.

**BPOV**

Paris! I couldn't believe it! This was about ten times better than any conventional, island getaway honeymoon. Paris is a city built for romance. Plus, I took four years of French in school, so I'm hoping I can brush up on it a bit while I'm here.

But, I wasn't about to rush off to go see the sights just yet. Not while I had this amazing hotel room with an even more amazing man in it. He took me back into the room and placed me on the bed.

"So, if we're staying in all day," he said with a lascivious grin, "I can't think of a better way to pass the time."

"You're not sick of me already?" I asked as he lifted my shirt over my head and went to work on my neck.

"Are you kidding? How could I ever get enough of you?"

"Well, you did have me about six times the other night," I reminded him.

"Still not enough," he replied, "And besides, those ten hours on the plane – being that close to you but not able to do more than kiss and hold you – that was torture."

"Hm, well maybe on the way home we can join the Mile High Club."

"Now there's an idea."

He threw our clothing to the floor slowly as we covered every inch of each other's exposed skin with feather-light kisses. He turned me onto my stomach and began to massage up my legs slowly. He took his time with my backside, caressing gently with his long fingers and even placing a nibble here and there that elicited girlish giggles from me.

He really concentrated on my back, though; he spent nearly twenty minutes just kneeling at my side rubbing my back with firm yet gentle pressure. I tilted my face towards him and moaned slightly to let him know how much I enjoyed his massage. It was slow and sensual – he made me hot by the mere touch of his hands.

The warm, Paris summer air was drifting through our balcony door, which Edward had left open. At first, I wanted to get up and close it so no one could hear what we were about to do, but the breeze felt too nice.

Edward finished my backrub, and moved to straddle my legs. He slid his right arm under my waist and lifted my back side to him. I started to lift myself up, bracing my weight on my elbows, but he put a hand on my upper back, "No, stay like that."

I obeyed and felt him move to spread my legs apart so he was positioned in between them. His erection was pressed against my backside – I felt him move his hand from my hip to his shaft and he positioned it just beneath me. It brushed up against my already swollen clit and made me jump slightly. I could hear the grin in his voice, "Mmmm, did you like that?"

"Yes," I whispered.

I pressed my left cheek to the mattress as he rubbed his shaft back and forth across the nub. I grabbed two handfuls of the bed clothing as he slowly drove me over the edge with just the friction he was creating.

Once my breathing had returned somewhat to normal, he placed himself at my entrance and pushed inside slowly. I gasped as my core was still sensitive from Edward's previous attentions. I heard him take a sharp breath as my walls clenched around him.

"Easy Angel; or I might explode before we've even started."

I tried to relax, but it was difficult when all 8 inches of Edward Cullen were inside of me. He pumped his hips at a nice steady pace that had me grasping at the sheets again in no time. But I didn't want to cum too soon; I wanted this sweet torture to take as long as possible, so I bit into the nearest pillow and tried to will myself into remaining calm.

It didn't work as well as I had hoped. After about five minutes, I was back at that wonderful precipice, waiting for him to fall over with me.

"Edward!" I cried. "I love you!"

"I love you more," he said as he shuddered and I felt his seed spilling into me.

He fell forward and braced himself on the headboard with his right arm. After a moment, he pulled out of me and I immediately turned to snuggle close to his chest. His hands caressed my face as he kissed me gently.

"So, how do you like Paris so far?" He laughed.

"It's the greatest city in the world," I replied. "Now, let's see how big the bathtub is here."

**EPOV**

After a day spent in bed…and in the bath…and on the coffee table – Bella and I decided to just hoof it and walk around Paris to see the sights. We were in the heart of the city, so it wasn't hard for us to make it to most of the major monuments.

We started at the Tower, and then walked over to the Arc de Triomphe where Bella had her Nikon ready and waiting to take pictures of me standing in front of the arch in various poses. I didn't mind her treating me as her personal posing whore as long as it made her happy. And she seemed happy with the results; she even said she got a few shots she would add to her portfolio.

I took her down the Champs-Élysées towards the Louvre, but was struck when we passed Cartier's. I pulled Bella over to the window to view the display. There were a number of pieces that seemed a bit over-the-top, "Hey, let's go inside."

"Why?" She asked.

"I want to get you a gift."

"Again…why?"

"Because, we're in Paris," I said. "I need to get you a gift that you can tell people your husband got you in Paris."

"Fine," she said.

We walked in and I pulled her to a case full of rings.

"How about that?"

"I have two rings from you," she said. "I don't need anymore."

"Not even those?" I asked as I pointed to three silver rings with diamonds in them.

"Enough rings," she said. "I've never really worn them before, so I'm going to have to get used to wearing my wedding and engagement rings."

"I think we should get them melded together," I said.

"No, I like them separate."

"OK, OK," I replied. "How about a necklace?"

I pulled her to the necklace case and we peered in.

"What do you think?" I asked.

She was gazing lovingly at something and I followed her glance. It was a necklace with pearls and diamonds.

"Do you like that?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, "My mom used to have something like it."

"Pardon," I said to the clerk and pointed to the necklace, "Est-ce que je peux voir cela?"

"Oui Monsieur."

He pulled out the necklace and I put it up to Bella's neck, "It's beautiful, Angel."

"OK, get it then," she said.

"Combien coûte ceci?" I asked the man.

"€ 42,000," the clerk said.

"Je le prendrai," I said.

The man rang it up and I handed him my credit card. I took the box and immediately put it around her neck.

"But, it's for a special occasion," she protested, "I shouldn't put it on now."

"Wear it for me, please?"

"OK," she said.

"Merci," she said to the clerk as he waved at us.

We walked down to the Louvre and then to Notre Dame. Bella took an endless stream of photos as we walked around the cathedral. We went to the top of the building and she took photos of the city.

"Did you get more stuff to add to your portfolio?" I asked.

"Not really," she said sadly. "It's all too trite – photos of Paris skyline from the top of Notre Dame? It's so been done."

I laughed as she finally put the camera away and we walked to the nearest metro station.

"Why don't we just walk back?" She asked.

"I'm tired," I said, "Aren't you tired?"

"I guess," she sighed.

We got back to the hotel and I flopped on the bed in exhaustion. She knelt next to me and began to rub my shoulders.

"Do you want me to give you a back rub like the one you gave me yesterday?" She asked.

"Yes please," I replied as I tilted my face to the right side.

She pulled my shirt and pants off as I lay there; she began at my ankles and slowly massaged her way up to my backside. She even gave me a nibble there, the same as I had given her.

She pulled away for a moment and I turned to see she was removing her clothing. She straddled my legs and began to massage my back. She went slow and sensually, the way I imagined I went with her yesterday.

I began to grow particularly hard. Uncomfortably hard, in fact – I had to say something.

"Angel, I have a situation."

"What?"

"Umm… this is starting to hurt."

"Am I too heavy?" She asked. "Do you need me to get off?"

"No, it's not that," I said quickly. "I just have a…"

"A what?"

I turned as she knelt beside me to show her my growing problem.

"Oh," she laughed, "You have a 'situation.'"

"Yeah."

"Well…I can fix that."

**Honeymoon in Paris…is there anything more romantic? I went there for three days with my mom, but it wasn't enough. I really think you need at least a week to see all of Paris.**

**Anywho! Next up: they start their life in Seattle…**

**French translations:**

**Est-ce que je peux voir cela? – May I see that?**

**Oui Monsieur – Yes sir**

**Combien coûte ceci? – How much is it?**

**Je le prendrai – I'll take it**

**Merci – Thank you (although, I'm sure you all knew that)**


	26. Chapter 26

**YAY! So this is officially my longest and most reviewed story, and I'm going to keep it going at least a few more chapters for all you awesome people! **

**BPOV**

Two weeks in Paris was unbelievable! After our stay there, Edward took me to Frankfurt for a week, then Geneva for another week where we celebrated Edward's 23rd birthday with massive amounts of chocolate and booze. We ended our European expedition with a week in Amsterdam before we finally headed back to the states.

And just when I thought we were heading home, Edward had another surprise for me. We stopped in New York in what I thought was just a lay-over for a connecting flight. But, as we got off the plane, Edward led me to a limo waiting outside of JFK.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Won't we miss our next flight?"

"No," he replied, "It's not till tomorrow night."

"But...where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," he said, "Get in."

He was holding the limo door open, and I slid into the seat and scooted over to let him in. We drove for a bit and then stopped in front of a very nice hotel. The front of the building said Soho Grand Hotel.

"Wow," I gasped, "Bet this cost a pretty penny."

He smiled and shook his head, "Don't you worry about the cost. This is still our honeymoon, and I'll spend as much as I please on you."

We walked up to the front desk as men were pulling our luggage from the trunk of the limo.

"Reservation for Cullen," Edward said.

"Yes, Mr. Cullen," the concierge said. "You're penthouse loft is ready and waiting."

I sighed, "Penthouse loft?"

He shot me a stern look and I let the matter drop, for now. But that didn't mean I wouldn't harangue him later about wasting probably thousands of dollars for a loft we'll only be staying in for one night. We got in the elevator and traveled up to the top of the building.

It wasn't a hotel room, it was an apartment. If I had to guess, I'd say it was bigger than our townhouse. But, I certainly wasn't going to complain about the view. There was a sliding glass door that led out to the balcony and in the distance stood the Empire State Building. I gazed at it as Edward joined me.

"First, you give me the Eiffel Tower, now I get the Empire State Building? What's next? Taj Mahal? Big Ben? Or are you going to rebuild the Twin Towers just for me?"

He grinned, "Aw, you ruined my first anniversary surprise!"

I swatted him playfully.

"Thank you," I said. "I really do love this."

"No need to thank me, Angel, I live to make you happy."

I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist—burying my face in his chest. I felt a brief, flickering moment of sadness, though. I thought of just how much my mom would enjoy this. She loved New York—she always talked about taking me here one day. And, I knew that if she had lived, she would have made good on that promise.

We were tired from the flight, so we went to bed without getting intimate first. I would say it was a nice respite, but I enjoy our love-making far too much. And besides, it was his turn to wake me up with a nice, sensual surprise. And he didn't disappoint.

I could feel his soft lips on my right knee as I opened my eyes to find him kissing his way towards my center. His hands were pushing my nightgown up and I obliged him by sitting up slightly so he could pull it over my head and throw it to the ground. I had become used to not wearing any panties to bed, especially since I went off birth control and our desire to have a baby right away had caused both of us to be prone to random acts of intimacy at a moment's notice.

The blankets began to slide down his bottom as he knelt before me and began to suck and lick at my core. He was already completely naked and I noticed he was also already fully erect—the tell tale hard-on was right there between his legs.

He inserted two fingers and pumped them in and out of me in a steady rhythm.

"Mmmm, Edward," I moaned as I writhed on the bed and brushed my legs against the sides of his shoulders.

Then, suddenly, he pulled away. I moaned in protest but his fingers were soon replaced with something I like even more. He braced himself over me and slowly began rolling his hips. His face was mere inches from mine and his eyes were hooded in lust.

"I love you," he whispered as he lowered his head, closing the space between us.

Our tongues mingled as our climaxes began to build. My hands trailed down from his hair to his shoulders and I grazed my nails down his back, stopping at his ass. I dug them into his soft flesh and heard him draw in a sharp intake of breath. I smiled against his lips and pulled his hips harder into mine.

He grunted and I moaned as we came together.

We lay there afterward, snuggled close. He ran his fingers lightly up and down my arm and I turned to kiss his shoulder before resting my head on it. Suddenly, I jumped out of bed.

"Wait, what are we lying around for? Don't we have stuff to do today? Go see Central Park or the Statue of Liberty or something?"

"Unh," he grunted, "Let's just sleep."

"No, we are in the greatest city on planet earth and we only have a day to see it all, now get up!"

I grabbed his hands and started to pull him up, but he stubbornly resisted. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. An idea suddenly hit me.

"Hey, you might get lucky if you get in the shower with me right now," I teased as I walked into the bathroom.

As soon as I turned the knob to the shower to start the water, he was right there behind me.

**EPOV**

I've been around New York City a few times before, but walking around with Bella made it much more enjoyable. If it was possible, it was even better than Paris. I know Bella was in love with the romance of Paris, but I like the gritty realness of New York. I like the interesting people you meet in the streets and on the subway.

All the walking seemed to make Bella incredibly hungry – she ate a whole plate of Belgian waffles for breakfast and in the course of our journey around the city, she had a slice of pizza, two churros and hot dog from a sidewalk vendor – all before we made our way back to JFK.

Even when we got on the plane, she ate her bag of pretzels and turned to gaze at the bag sitting in front of me.

"You gonna eat those?" She asked.

I opened the bag and began feeding them to her. She smiled as she crunched into one of them and rested her head against my shoulder.

"Wow, you're hungry today, Angel," I said.

"I know, it's so weird," she said. "I was feeling kinda sick when we were in Amsterdam and now I can't stop eating."

My hand stopped mid-air on its way to carry another pretzel to her mouth. She gave me a curious look, "What's wrong?"

"When was the last time you had your period?"

Her eyes got wide, "A week before the wedding."

"And we've been gone for five weeks."

"And I'm getting sick and constantly eating."

We both turned to each other for a moment. She lunged forward and I wrapped her in my arms. "Angel, I think you're pregnant."

"Wow," she gasped, "I didn't think it would happen so fast. Is that normal? It should have taken longer for us, right? I haven't been off birth control for that long?"

"I think I read somewhere that it can happen as soon as two weeks after you go off the pill," I said. "And remember, those things aren't one hundred percent effective, it could have faltered."

"Well, it doesn't matter how or when it happened, right? It happened! We're going to have a baby!"

"Yes we are," I said quietly, lost in a thought of Bella with a beautiful, swollen belly.

"I want a little Edward," she whispered, breaking me out of my trance. "I hope he has red hair and topaz eyes like his daddy."

"Well, how about a little brown-eyed girl?" I asked.

"That would be nice, too," she admitted, "But we should wait until I take a test and go see the doctor first to make sure this really is a pregnancy and not just me having contracted some kind of tapeworm."

I laughed, "OK, we'll hold off the celebrations. But, a man can still dream of the pretty little brown-eyed girl he's going to have with the woman he loves."

She gazed at me lovingly, "You're the greatest husband ever, do you know that?"

"Oh really? You've had many husbands before me?"

"Yes, and each one sucked worse than the last."

We both laughed as our foreheads met gently. I could tell she was just as excited, despite her insistence on having a doctor's visit. Her eyes were red-rimmed with tears as she looked at me.

"I can't wait," she whispered.

**BPOV**

As soon as we got back to Seattle, I made an appointment with an OB-GYN at Carlisle's hospital. I wanted to get in as soon as possible, so I had to make the appointment for first thing in the morning. I got up at 7 so I could get there by 8, and met with Dr. Friedberg.

She had me do the old school, pee-in-the-cup pregnancy test, which gave me pause for thought because I had already taken a Clear Blue Easy test yesterday and it came out positive – why did I need another test?

The cup test gave me the same results as the stick test. Then she asked me about my medical history and the date of my last period. She determined that my due date would be around March 10, and she asked if I had any questions. I didn't, so I took down the name of the prenatal vitamins she wanted me to start taking and made an appointment to come back and see her in a month for another check-up.

I thought that might be too soon, but she said I should try and squeeze in as many visits as I can in the nine months of the pregnancy. And far be it for me to argue with an OB-GYN – especially considering this is my first baby.

I went home and found Edward still in bed. Though I couldn't blame him – after I took the pregnancy test last night and it came out positive, we spent the next few hours making love on just about every surface in the house. It felt a little weird, I had to admit. I mean, this IS still his parents' house, so I had this paranoid fear that they would just walk in at any minute. Hey, it's happened before.

But, luckily they called and we said we'd meet them today for lunch. And then we had sex on Esme's coffee table. I still feel a little bit dirty about that one.

I hopped in and out of the shower in less than five minutes and went downstairs to make coffee to wake Edward up with. I took a nice, tall cup back to the bedroom for him and placed in on the bedside table.

I sat on the bed and leaned over him as I kissed his lips gently – he stirred.

"Wake up, sleepy head! We're going to meet your parents for lunch at noon."

"Unh, what time is it?"

"9:45."

"OK, I'll get up," he said as he rolled over and began to drift off again.

"You're supposed to pull that one when I'm not actually in the room," I said as I crawled over to rest my head against his shoulder.

"Alright, alright," he said. "Don't suppose you want to take a shower with me?"

"Already had one," I said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"What'd the doctor say?" He asked as he kicked his legs out from under the sheets.

"Same stuff we figured she'd say, I just needed to hear it from someone in a professional-looking white coat."

"So, when's the due date for this little miracle?" He wrapped his left arm around me and put his right hand on my belly.

"Around March 10th ," I said.

"Mmmm, too long," he whined as he kissed me again.

"Well, it needs time to grow," I replied.

"Don't call the baby 'it'," he said.

"Why? We won't know the sex for at least another five months," I said as I started pushing him towards the bathroom so he would take a shower.

"It's going to be a girl, I've got a feeling," he said as he started the water and I turned to the mirror to put on some makeup.

"Yeah, well we'll see."

I started to part my hair and braided it into pigtails, but I put the hair-ties on with about five inches of loose hair left. I was still admiring my handiwork when he shut off the shower and grabbed a towel. He was drying his hair when he walked up behind me.

"Hey, Pippi Longstocking, nice pigtails."

I swatted him, "They're not sticking straight out so this is in no way a Pippi-do."

"OK, whatever you say," he teased as he pulled me close.

His skin was still damp and it soaked into my clothes.

"Ah! Edward!" I laughed. "Now I've got to change!"

"OK, then let me get you out of these damp clothes."

**EPOV**

We met my parents at Palomino and once Mom got her hands on Bella, she refused to let my wife leave her side. My parents had already ordered a round of Portabella Mushroom soup that showed up with our drink orders. Bella dug in and polished her soup off in record time.

"Wow Bella," Dad said. "You hungry?"

"Um, yeah," she replied sheepishly as she gave me an apologetic look.

Fortunately, she hadn't given it away too soon. We wanted to build up to it – make a big to-do about the pregnancy. I imagined standing up behind Bella and announcing the news as she smiled up at me with an incandescent glow about her. And then Dad would stand up and clap me on the shoulder and tell me how proud he is while Mom cried and fawned over Bella – rubbing her tummy and crowing about her first grandchild.

We ordered our food and I looked to Bella who nodded – a sign that she was ready for me to break the news.

I stood, "Mom, Dad; Bella and I have news."

Mom was mid-sip on her glass of Merlot, which she promptly set down, "Oh, we do, too! Do you want to go first, Edward? Or should we?"

"Oh, you should, Esme," Bella said, looking at me meaningfully.  
"Bella! Please call me Mom?"

"Sorry Mom," Bella said quietly.

"Well," Mom began, "I've been planning Bella's 21st birthday party!"

"Oh," Bella replied, "Seriously?"

"Yes, dearest. We'll have a party at our house with both families and whatever friends you want to invite. But, I want your input on a few things."

Mom pulled out a big bag with some catalogs and other papers in it. She took out a notebook and pen, "So, what kind of cake do you want?"

"Um, I don't know," Bella said.

"Yeah, Mom you can talk about it later," I said, "After lunch."

"OK," Mom said, winking at Bella, "Later. But, oh wait! We're going to have a bartender there and he's going to invent a special drink for you. So, I know you've probably never touched alcohol a day in your life – because you're such a good girl – but is there any type of liquor you'd want?"

"Uhh," Bella said looking at me with a pleading expression.

"Mom," I said. "I should probably tell you our news now."

"OK," Mom replied, confused.

I stood behind Bella's chair and put a hand on her shoulder. She put her tiny, delicate hands over mine and squeezed gently. My dad's eyes got wide – he knew what I was going to say.

"Mom, Dad…we're going to have a baby."

I waited for it – for that wonderful reaction I sought. But there was only silence. Mom did look like she was going to cry, however.

"Already?" Dad asked. "But, you just got married! Didn't you want to wait until you were out of med school?"

"Mom had me when you were in med school," I said.

"Yes, at the end of my three years," Dad countered. "And, she had graduated from college. Bella still has two years left."

"I can manage," Bella said. "It will be hard, but we'll make it work."

"You shouldn't have to," Dad continued. "You should just be able to wrap up your four years and then decide what you want to do with the rest of your life."

I glared at my father, "You're not honestly suggesting she have an abortion."

"Of course not!" He spat back. "I'm just saying this wasn't exactly great timing."

Bella began crying and Mom immediately took her in her arms, "Stop that, both of you! Look what you're doing to poor Bella! Don't worry, dearest, it will be alright; I'll help you take care of the baby."

"They're adults, Esme, they should have to find a solution for themselves," Dad said as we continued to stare each other down.

"Carlisle Cullen! Listen to yourself!" Mom said as she stroked Bella's hair. "These are our children, and we will give them all the help they want."

Dad and I were still standing in tense anger as the server brought our food over. She awkwardly placed the plates in front of us, trying not to acknowledge the situation, and left without a word.

"Edward, Carlisle, sit down and eat!" Mom ordered.

"I'm suddenly not hungry," I said, "Come on, Bella – let's go."

"No!" Bella said, tears still streaming down her face. "We can't leave like this."

"She's right," Dad said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Edward, this is just a shock. I mean…you didn't planning this, did you?"

"Of course they didn't!" Mom replied.

"Actually," Bella said, wiping her face with a napkin, "We did. We want this baby so much, Dad. Please, just be happy for us."

Dad shook his head but looked down at Bella who gave him her full-on, puppy-dog face – her big, brown eyes still shining from her previously fallen tears. I knew he couldn't resist that face, it's impossible.

"I am happy for you, sweetheart," Dad said as he moved to put his arms around Bella, "And I know you're going to be a wonderful mother. You both are going to be great parents."

"Thanks Dad," I said quietly as he hugged me, "I love you."

"I love you too, son," he said.

We finished our lunch without any more drama. Mom kept hugging Bella every few minutes and giggling with joy.

"So," Dad began as we left the restaurant, "Have you told Charlie yet?"

"No," Bella said with a sigh. "That's going to require a lot of preparation."

"We'll be there if you like," Mom said. "If you think that might soften the blow."

"I'll take all the help I can get," Bella laughed.

**Yes, I will carry to at least the birth – and further if I get inspired. So, get in your suggestions now for the baby's sex and name…I'll take all into serious consideration ;-)**


	27. Chapter 27

**OK, so messaged received – no baby named Renesmee! (Not that I would have done that anyway, it's kind of already taken)**

**But, I'm happy with what I've chosen…hopefully, you will be too**

**BPOV**

Edward and I have been debating for the past couple of days over exactly how we will break the news to my dad. I thought we should take the Rosalie approach and get as many friends and family around as possible – you know, really soften the blow. But, Edward is afraid Dad might feel ambushed that way, and that it should just be us and our parents.

I decided to call Esme and see what she thought.

"It's really up to you, dearest," she said. "If you think that your father would be less prone to anger with more people there, I'll invite everyone over to our house for dinner."

I was listening to her on my cell phone as Edward and I sat on the couch. I glanced over to him and he smiled at me.

"Your mom said she wouldn't mind inviting everyone over for dinner," I whispered, "We can tell Dad then."

He sighed, "OK, sounds good. When can she do it?"

"Edward said that's fine, how soon can we set it up?" I asked Esme.

"Whenever you want…let's see…today is Wednesday – you don't think this Saturday is too soon, do you?"

"No, Dad should be able to make it," I said. "I'll call him and let you know."

I said goodbye and dialed Dad's number. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hey Babygirl," he said. "What's up?"

"Not much, Dad, how are you?"

"Good."

"Good – so are you free on Saturday?"

"No plans so far, why?"

"Esme wants to have a little get together, and I've only seen you once since Edward and I got back from Europe and I want to see you and Emmett and Rose and Ethan…"

"OK, enough arm twisting," Dad laughed. "What time?"

"Whenever you want, Dad," I said. "How does around 4 sound?"

"I thought Esme had planned this out."

"She does," I said quickly, "But we're willing to work around what's convenient for you."

"Uh-huh," he replied suspiciously, "Well, I'll be at Carlisle and Esme's around 4, then. Do you mind if I bring Sue?"  
"Of course not, I'd love to see Sue, and Seth and Leah if they want to come."

"Alright, well I'll see you this weekend, kiddo."

"Bye Dad, I love you."

"Love you too."

We hung up and I reached over Edward to place the phone on table beside him. He immediately grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into his lap. His lips went right to my neck and I leaned into him.

"You're OK with this, right?" I asked. "I mean, I know you only wanted it to be the six of us, but I feel more comfortable this way."

"I only want what's best for you, Angel," he whispered as he kissed his way up to my jaw.

I smiled. "Thank you."

Edward and I drove to his parents place early Saturday afternoon to help set up for the gathering. Alice was there already and she marched right up to me with a stern look.  
"So, I had to hear about your pregnancy from my parents? It never occurred to you to call your best friend and say 'I'm having a baby?'"

"I…I'm sorry, Alice, we were going to tell everybody all at once," I said.

"I'm not everybody; I'm your best friend AND Edward's only sister! Doesn't that give me special privileges?"

"I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me, you know I love you!"

"I know, and I'm not really mad at you," she said as she pulled me into her arms. "Besides, I'm just so happy to be an auntie."

"Hey, where's Jasper?" I asked as we sat down in the living room.

"He has to work until 3," she said.

"He has to work on a Saturday? I thought the law firm was closed on the weekend."

"It is, but he's working on this case with the partners and he wants to impress them by looking up case files."

"Geez," I said, shaking my head, "He hasn't even started law school yet – he's ahead of the curve, huh?"

"He's trying to be."

"So, ready to start your last year at U-dub?"

"Indeed, but the question is are you ready to start your first year? You know, this isn't some Mickey Mouse school like State!"

"I know," I smirked. "And I'm excited. I'm putting together a portfolio to send into The Daily, I looked online and they're looking for a staff photographer for this semester."

"You're a shoe-in, I've seen your stuff and it's ten times better than the crap they put in that paper."

"Thanks," I laughed.

Alice and I helped Esme make dinner and dessert, all of Dad's favorites – prime rib with baby carrots and mashed potatoes. Plus a sponge cake with butter cream frosting and coffee, which I planned to whip out just before I broke the news so it would also be before his blood started to boil over.

I had just put the cake in the over when Dad walked in with Sue and Seth. Emmett and I had been getting the feeling that Leah doesn't like the idea of our dad with her mom, but I wasn't going to let that unpleasant feeling ruin my mood. Especially not when Dad was in such a good mood – and I mean a really good mood.

He even hugged Edward and Carlisle. This was big.

We all laughed and talked through dinner, I had been hoping Dad wouldn't be suspecting my ruse of plying him with all his favorite foods – he didn't seem to catch wise. In fact, he seemed blissfully distracted. It was almost starting to worry me.

Esme and I got up to get the cake and coffee. I gave Edward a weak smile as I placed the cake down on the table and he began to cut it and pass the pieces around. Once everyone had a piece of cake, Esme began pouring the coffees and Dad noticed I didn't take a cup.

"No coffee for you, kiddo? I thought you loved coffee."

He noticed that? Of all things?

"Well, no Dad," I said as I stood up, "In fact, I won't be having coffee for a while – doctor's orders."

"Doctor's orders?" He asked, confused – but Sue had caught on.

"Bella, are you saying what I think your saying?"

Rosalie jumped in, "Is Ethan going to have a little cousin soon?"

"Yes," I replied. "Edward and I are expecting a baby."

Rosalie and Sue jumped up to hug me while Emmett and Jasper congratulated Edward. I just stared at Dad who was struck dumb. I gave him a pleading look and he sighed. He stood up and everyone was silent – I'm still in awe with how people tend to show my dad such hushed reverence. He walked around the table and wrapped me in his arms.

"What's with you kids turning me into a grandpa?" He asked as he stroked my hair.

He pulled back and his eyes were brimming with tears, "Congratulations, Bells. I'm very happy for you."

"Thanks Dad," I said as I threw my arms around his neck.

"When's the due date?" Rosalie asked.

"March 10th," Edward said.

"Well, if we're making announcements," Sue began, taking Dad's hand, "We have one to make as well."

Dad actually blushed; I've never seen my dad blush before. "Well, I…asked Sue if she…would marry me…"

"…And I said yes," Sue squealed.

I was stunned, now I know how Dad felt just a few minutes ago. I suddenly felt the tears falling as I hugged Sue, "Oh Sue! That's so great! Dad, what took you so long to ask?"

"Hey," Dad laughed as I hugged him, "You know me, sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things."

"Congratulations to both of you," Carlisle said getting up, "This calls for a celebration!"

He came out of the kitchen with a bottle of champagne and a bottle of grape juice, "Here's some bubbly for those of us who can imbibe, and some juice for the pregnant and underage."

"Hey, what do you know, I'm both!" I laughed as Carlisle poured me some grape juice in a champagne flute.

Edward took some juice as well, "I'm not a big fan of the bubbly, so I think I'll just pretend its first communion."

We celebrated the two occasions until about midnight – Dad and Sue said they were thinking about having the wedding next summer and I would be one of the bridesmaids. I asked Sue about Leah and if she was going to be the maid-of-honor, but she very abruptly changed the subject so I let it drop.

Edward and I drove back to the house in a euphoric state – although, I did have to wonder what Dad's reaction would have been had he not been so happy about his engagement. He probably would have strangled Edward.

I tilted my head towards him and slipped my hand into his. He turned and smiled before returning his eyes to the road, "How are you feeling, Momma?"

"New pet name? I like it!"

He laughed, "Well, you're still my Angel, but I figured Momma is fitting now, too."

"Will you call me that later?"

"What do you mean?"

I raised my eyebrows, "I. Mean. Later…"

He still seemed confused until I raised his hand to mine and ran my tongue over the back of it slowly. He gasped then grinned, "Oh…later. Of course I'll call you that later – will you call me Daddy?"

"I don't think so," I said. "That would be kinda awkward."

"Fair enough."

"Wow, I can't believe he was so cool with everything," I said. "And I can't believe he's getting remarried! I thought he'd be a hermit for the rest of his life."

"You don't mean that you'd hoped he would be a hermit for the rest of his life, do you?"

"Of course not! Why would you think such a thing?"

"Well," he replied, "It's just that sometimes a child may not want a step-parent to replace the parent lost or…"

"OK, stop right there," I said, "I may not have fully coped with my mom's death, but that doesn't mean I want my dad to be alone forever."

"I know, Bella, I was just talking without thinking – I'm sorry."

"I get what you mean, but it's not what you think," I said, "I only want my dad to be happy."

"I know, Bells," he said as he leaned over and kissed me gently.

**EPOV **

**October**

Bella was five months along and showing a bit bigger than I thought she would be. Though, I'd never mention that to her because she just might physically maim me.

She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow where she gets an ultrasound and we may be able to determine the sex of the baby. Bella is still convinced it's a boy, but I know better. I remember the way that Rosalie looked and acted when she was pregnant with Ethan, and it's not the same with Bella – she's carrying the baby high and it seems also to be carried all around her middle. Plus, she had had morning sickness very early in the pregnancy, so my mom said that's a pretty good indication that it's a girl. And I won't be one to argue with a woman who has already had two children.

We made the appointment so I could be there just after my last class of the day. I picked up Bella from the house and found my mom there rubbing my wife's shoulders and forcing healthy food on her – Bella had been craving a lot of Taco Bell lately, and I think Mom found that disturbing.

We drove to the medical center where my dad held his practice to find him talking with Dr. Friedberg, Bella's OB-GYN.

"Hello!" Dad said, "Bella, ready for this?"

"Absolutely," she said.

Dr. Friedberg appraised Bella with a concerned look. "Bella, you haven't changed your diet, have you?"

"No," she said defensively, "Why?"

"Nothing," Dr. Friedberg replied, "You've just grown a lot in the past few months."

"Yeah, I know," Bella whined, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing."

We went into the examination room after Bella was weighed and measured – although she refused to look at the scale.

Dad and I lifted Bella up on the chair so the ultrasound technician could lift her shirt and squirt some gel on her belly.

"Wow!" The technician said, "You're big! Are you due soon?"

I grimaced as I could swear steam began to flow out Bella's ears.  
"I'M DUE IN MARCH!!"

"Oh," the poor girl said quietly, "Sorry."

The technician put the sensor on Bella's tummy and moved it around until an image projected on the screen behind me. I turned but couldn't make out what was on the screen. The girl seemed to be just as confused as I was.

"I can't see where the head is," she said.

"What, so my baby doesn't have a head?" Bella asked incredulously. "What the hell's the matter with you? Do you know what you're doing?"

"Bella! I'm sure the baby's just in an odd position," I said.

"Well maybe ultrasound girl here should be worrying less about people's belly sizes and more about her job!!" Bella cried.

"I…I'm sorry," the girl said. "I'll go get Dr. Friedberg."

The technician rushed out of the room as Bella crossed her arms and dared any of us to say she was being unreasonable with her intense glare. I didn't, because I like having a penis and have no desire to have my wife cut it off of me in a fit of hormonal, pregnant rage.

The doctor came in to diffuse the situation, "So, we seem to be having trouble seeing the ultrasound. Let's see if I can get this going."

Dr. Friedberg probed Bella's belly with the sensor again and smiled slyly, "So that's why Julie couldn't see anything."

"What? Why?" Bella asked, trying to sit up – I tried to keep her down so the doctor could keep performing the ultrasound.

"Well, Mrs. Cullen, it seems this isn't a conventional pregnancy – though, not very uncommon."

"What is going on?" Bella asked. "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Friedberg laughed, "It's twins, Bella. Julie couldn't make out any images because you're having twins."

I turned to Bella who's face lit up with excitement. "Twins? I'm having two babies?"

"Yes, and if you give me a moment, I might just be able to tell you the sex of the babies – I mean, if that's what you want."

"We do," Bella and I said in unison.

"OK, let's see."

The doctor began to move the sensor over every inch of Bella's swollen belly and took a few snap shots. Then she looked to the machine that calculated the babies' heart rates and smiled.

"Alright, well we can't be one hundred percent sure at this point, but…I think I can say with about eighty percent certainty that both of the babies are girls."

I tried not to look smug, but I couldn't help it – all the signs were pointing to it and the dreams I've been having lately revolved around girls.

Bella didn't give me any grief however; she was just on the verge of tears. She stared at the screen with her mouth open slightly.

"Angel, what are you thinking?" I asked with a smile as she shook her head briefly and seemed to return to reality.

"Girls," she whispered. "We're having two little girls."

"Yes we are," I said.

She turned to me as a tear ran down her cheek. "Our girls…"

Bella broke down as I wrapped my arms around her, "Yes, our girls – our perfect, beautiful girls."

She kissed the side of my neck and I pulled back to kiss her lips softly. Mom and Dad were in the corner of the room – Dad held Mom as she cried softly. As soon as I turned away from Bella, Mom was on her with hugs and kisses.

As we had our wonderful family moment, Dr. Friedberg began to print out the photos from the ultrasound for us to take with us. She even made up duplicates for Mom and Dad, which they promised they would copy on their fancy, new photo printer for everybody. Although, Bella took the photo where you could see the two girls' heads close together and said it goes to Charlie, no questions asked. Though, she added, she wouldn't give the photo to her dad without the names.

When we got home, Bella poured over books of baby names, though I know she had been over these books about a million times before. She even managed to pull me in for a three hour name-picking session before she put the photo in an envelope and wrote the names neatly on the front: Keely Renee and Aina Esme Cullen.

"That's perfect," I said. "Well done, Momma."

**So, what do you think of the names? I took all the suggestions into consideration and saw that many of you wanted twins, but I decided to go with same sex because I want Edward to be out-numbered by girls! I think it will be fun for him!**


	28. Chapter 28

**As per a couple requests, Aina is pronounced "Ah-eee-nah." It means joy – at least it does in the Celtic sense. I think if you look it up in some African dialects, it means difficult birth…but we're not going with that meaning! And Keely means splendor in Celtic. That little bit o'Irish in me loves Celtic names, I couldn't resist!**

**BPOV **

**Christmas**

This year, I've told everybody to forego getting me anything for Christmas – just get baby gifts. I had to give particular emphasis to Edward, Esme and Carlisle, who have a tendency to spoil me rotten when it comes to gift giving holidays.

I printed out our baby gift registry and sent it to everyone, plus I e-mailed it so no one could say they didn't have at least one copy. I didn't need seven people going out and each getting me a crib but no baby clothes.

Although, Alice was all over the baby wardrobe, as we all had predicted. She had a number of ridiculous ensembles that ran from newborn to toddler. My girls will never be without something smashing to wear – even as infants.

Esme did managed to get me my fair share of maternity clothes and neat little things to make the pregnancy easier – like a body pillow that's supposed to make sleeping on my side more comfortable. I really only use it when I take naps and Edward's not there to snuggle up to.

I do, however, love the maternity dresses that she, Alice and Rosalie bought me. I'm finding I wear those more often than anything else. Most were simple wraps, but they did manage to get me a couple pretty, strapless dresses, one of which I was saving for our big Christmas Eve dinner.

At seven months along, I was much bigger than Rosalie was right before she had Ethan. I'd say almost twice as round, but Edward always tells me I'm being ridiculous. And then I remind him that I am, in fact, carrying two babies – so to be twice as big as a conventional pregnant woman is not ridiculous.

He tends not to argue with me for too long in my current state.

He was helping me out of my fabulous coat that I was afraid wouldn't fit me anymore when I was no longer pregnant. We were holding the Christmas Eve dinner at Esme and Carlisle's house and I had wanted to show up a couple hours early to help, but Edward took his sweet, precious time getting ready and we got there just as Esme and Alice were finishing everything.

I suspected that Esme had persuaded Edward to hold us up so I wouldn't be able to help – she thinks I do too much. Dad and Sue were already there, so I sat down on the couch next to them in a bit of a huff. My dad smiled and put his arm around me.

"Why's my Bella looking so down in the mouth?" He asked as he patted my gigantic belly.

"No one let's me do anything," I whined. "Everybody treats me like an invalid because I'm pregnant, and it's getting really annoying."  
Dad chuckled, "Look, kiddo, I know you like to always feel useful and help everyone out, but you just need to rest and let people take care of you right now."

"He's right, Angel," Edward said as he sat next to me, "I mean, don't you like me taking care of you?"

"Yes," I said quietly, "But I don't like feeling useless."

"How can you feel useless?" Edward asked. "You're going to have a baby – two babies – it's not like you're simply shirking your duties; you just can't do them like you did before."

I continued to sulk as Edward sighed and stood to go talk to his father. I couldn't help it, I wanted to just sit back and let people take care of me, I really did, but that hormonal side just wouldn't let up. It kept fighting with everyone I loved, even when I didn't really mean anything by it, I just kept snapping at people. I felt like such a bitch sometimes.

I leaned my head onto Dad's shoulder and just tried to calm myself down.

**EPOV**

I walked into Dad's office and flopped into a chair in front of his desk. He looked up from the book he was reading and leaned back against his own, padded chair.

"Let me guess," he began, "Pregnancy hormones have Bella a bit, shall we say, not like her sweet self these days?"

"Yes."

"And, in turn, you are becoming frustrated because nothing you seem to say or do is helping the situation any."

"Yes."

I glanced at his bemused expression and wanted to jump across the desk and throttle him. What is it about people who've been in your shoes before? Why do they always have to be so damn smug?

"Any advice?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Dad laughed, "The only thing you can do is ride this thing out and never lose your cool with Bella. This is difficult for her – and I know it's difficult for you, too, but that's not really the point right now. You're not carrying two fetuses in your belly right now, are you?"

I shook my head.

"No, so just be there when she needs you, ignore any snapping and unnecessary meanness from her – because you know she doesn't really mean it – and support her because in just a few short months, she'll be having to push your two children out of her body. And just imagine how pleasant she's going to be then."

I smiled and nodded, "Thanks – just needed some perspective."

"That's what I thought," he responded. "So, I believe dinner's almost ready."

Luckily, just as Dad and I walked back out, Rosalie and Emmett had showed up and Bella was already cooing over Ethan.

"Where's my little birthday boy?" She giggled as she took our nephew and gave him a big kiss. "Oh, wait until you see all the presents we got for you, didn't we, Uncle Edward?"

I shot my dad a look, "We sure did."

We all sat down to dinner and Bella was happy for the rest of the night. In fact, she was ecstatic – at one point, she was even salacious. When we got back to the house, she threw me down on the couch and began attacking me with her sweet, soft lips. I was a very willing victim.

She ripped my shirt off and tugged my pants down roughly before pulling her own panties off and straddling me as I lay on the couch. I held her hips as she rocked back and forth on top of me. I let her have her way with me twice before I carried her to the bedroom. Normally, she would protest that she was too heavy to carry, but she was beginning to grow tired – I wasn't about to just let her doze off that easily, though.

Once I had her on our bed, I pulled the dress off of her, exposing her beautiful round belly and full breasts. It was amazing how accurately I had pictured them before, when we were only dreaming of having children.

She lay there, snuggled in the pillows with that sleepy yet lustful look in her eyes. She held her arms out for me to slide into them, but instead I grasped her smooth, plump thighs and slid her backside up onto my lap. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I entered her and grasped her hips once more.

We slowly rolled our hips into each other over the next half an hour, neither really wanting to end the connection, but knowing that soon fatigue would set in and we would eventually collapse into each other's arms, spent and satiated.

I rubbed her clit and brought her to one last climax for the night – I followed just a moment afterward.

I rolled us so she was lying on her left side – the side the doctor had said was best for her circulation, and the babies', and we soon succumbed to sleep.

**BPOV**

Christmas morning turned out to be just what I had hoped for. Dad, Sue, Esme, Carlisle and everyone else had stuck to the plan to get me and Edward baby gifts, and there was no overlapping. Esme and Carlisle provided a pair of matching cribs and matching car seats. Dad had bought us two high-chairs while Sue had made us a total of six blankets – four each – that had the girls' names on them.

Emmett and Rosalie were opening mine and Edward's gifts for Ethan when there was a knock on the door. There was Billy with Jacob, Seth and Leah. Apparently Sue had asked Billy and Jacob to drive Seth and Leah out to Seattle after they spent Christmas Eve with their friends in La Push. Carlisle and Esme asked Billy and Jacob to stay.

For the next few hours, all Jacob could do was stare in disbelief at me and my enormous belly. It was making me self-conscious.

"Hey, how are you, Jake?" I finally asked as I moved to sit by him.

"Um…I'm great," he laughed, "And you're…huge!"

"Well, twins will do that to you," I replied.

"I guess so," he said.

Billy wheeled over and placed a hand on my stomach. "When are you due?"

"March 10th," I said.

"Hmmm," he said with a thoughtful glance at my mid-section, "Two girls? One will be like her mother, strong yet kind. The other will be like…"

He hesitated.

"Who?" I asked, "Edward?"

"…Renee," Billy said finally. "I feel she will be a free-spirit, full of life – if a bit flighty sometimes."

I felt tears prick at the corners of the eyes. I smiled and blinked the tears back before leaning forward to hug Billy. He awkwardly hugged me back as Jacob looked on with a smirk.

I wiped away the one stray tear that managed to find its way down my cheek and walked into the kitchen to see if I could be of any help – even if Esme, Sue and Alice all refused. As I walked in I saw Sue and Leah outside on the porch engaged in a heated argument.

"How long have they been out there?" I asked Esme.

"Almost as soon as Leah got here," she replied as she placed an arm around my shoulders.

I knew what they were arguing about – the engagement. Leah saw us as intruders – she thought Dad was trying to swoop in and take over the Clearwater family. She had also never liked the fact that I had dated Jacob and from that point on, she saw us as uppity outsiders trying to force our way into the Quileute community.

I took a deep breath and poured two cups of coffee to take out to them, maybe I could help diffuse the situation.

"Hey," I said as I opened the sliding glass door. "Who's up for some coffee?"

"Thanks Bella," Sue said with a forced smile as she took a cup from me – Leah just stared.

"Do you mind?" She asked with a huff, "We're trying to have a private conversation out here. You know, mother and daughter. Or maybe you don't know that…because you don't have a mother."

"LEAH!" Sue hissed.

"No Sue," I said, putting a calming hand on her shoulder, "She's partially right. I don't have a biological mother anymore. But, Esme's still my mother and pretty soon you will be too, Sue. And, if Leah can't appreciate you, I will."

"Hey!" Leah said, marching over to get in my face. "I do appreciate my mother! And I'll be damned if she'll ever be your mother!"

"And I'll be damned if I sit back one more minute while you insult my family," I said as I stood rooted to the spot, not intimidated by the three or four inches Leah has on me. "I know you've never liked me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get away with being disrespectful to my father. He's a good man and he loves your mother. In fact, Leah, the only one who seems to have any problem with this situation is you! So why don't you grow up and deal with it?"

"I don't have to listen to this shit!" Leah yelled as she stormed back inside.

She grabbed her purse off of the table and shoved her way past Esme and Alice into the living room. She would have made it to the front door, but she didn't factor in Alice's reaction to having some sulky teenager push Esme aside.

Alice grabbed Leah's arm before she reached the door knob and spun her around.

"Excuse me," Alice spat, "We invited you into our home and this is the thanks we get? First you yell at my pregnant sister and your own mother, and then you presume to lay a hand on my mother and get away with it. You better march back in there and apologize before I make you wish you were never born."

"I already do," Leah hissed in a dangerous voice.

"Alice," I called from the hallway causing both girls to turn towards me, "It's not worth it – let her go."

Alice gave Leah one last withering glance before she walked back to me and took my arm gently. She sat me down on the sofa as Leah slammed the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry, everyone," Sue said.

"No Sue, you have nothing to be sorry about," Esme said. "Now, who is ready for a cinnamon roll?"

**March 15**

My god, I'm still pregnant!

These girls really are like me and mom, they're damn stubborn! I was sitting in front of the TV at Esme and Carlisle's house bouncing in my seat with impatience. That's all I seem to be able to do these days. It's almost as if my subconscious thinks I can jiggle the babies out of me somehow.

If I could stand up, I'd try jumping jacks, but the reason I'm at my in-laws' house – under the watchful eye of Esme – is because Edward is at a late class and he doesn't trust that I will stay off of my feet. That's why I'm here, at 4 in the afternoon watching Oprah with Esme – bouncing my knees and impatiently drumming my fingers over the table to my right.

"He'll be here in a few minutes," Esme said as she brought me another glass of water.

She only took quick trips to the kitchen or the bathroom, helping me every time I needed to move around. She knew I couldn't really get up and down by myself at this point. I'm about the size of an elephant.

The front door opened and Edward called for me, "Where's my Angel?"

"In here," I said excitedly, turning to see him walk into the room.

"Hey, don't twist like that, you'll hurt your back," he said.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just need to go home and lie down."

I reached up as Esme and Edward grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. As soon as I was up I felt a weird sensation in my lower belly. Actually, it was more than a sensation, it was a like something snapped in my womb – it made my knees buckle.

"Ow," I said as I wrenched my hands out of Edward and Esme's grasps and threw my arms around my belly.

"Angel! Did your water break?" Edward asked as he pulled me back up and put me on the couch again.

"I think so," I managed to choke out as I panted and wheezed from the pain.

After a few moments, the pain had died down. Esme made Edward wait for another contraction to hit me before they took me to the hospital. They got me into the maternity ward and into a private room to wait for Dr. Friedberg. She came in after about an hour of nurses poking and prodding me.

"Alright Bella, how are we doing?"

"Well, not having a contraction so I'm OK right now."

"Good, when was your last one?"

"About five minutes ago," I replied.

"And the one before that?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Good, good," she said as she scribbled some stuff down on my chart.

She checked all of my machines and IVs before telling me she would be back once there was a change in my labor. Edward sat by my side until I started to feel the contractions grow closer and closer together. Dr. Friedberg came back in and checked everything again. She said I was almost at 10 centimeters and it was about time to move me into the delivery room.

A nurse took Edward to get into some scrubs – there was no way I was going to let him get away with not being in the room with me. And he was just as adamant about being by my side.

He held my left hand and braced my back with his right as I started to push. I knew I was probably squeezing the life out of his hand, but I couldn't think about that right now, only the fact that it felt like I was being ripped in two.

The first came out fairly easily – Aina, she was tiny and had a powerful set of lungs. A nurse took her to get cleaned and measured while the doctor began to consult with the mid-wife. They looked concerned, even with the masks covering the lower half of their faces.

"Bella, it seems that the second baby is turned around," Dr. Friedberg said. "I could try and turn her so she comes out head first and if that doesn't work, we may have to go with cesarean."

I swallowed hard, I really didn't want to have to get a C-Section, so Dr. Friedberg had Edward help hold me up with my right leg up to widen the space that Keely was in. Of course she had to be the difficult one – the one like my mom. I had to rock my hips back and forth to see if she would slide into position while Dr. Friedberg aided the maneuvering by massaging my stomach.

After about twenty minutes, Dr. Friedberg let out a relieved sigh, "I think we have it – let's get you back down."

Once I was on my back again, I went back into my pushing and Keely slid out in a few minutes. She wasn't as loud as Aina, so maybe she did have a touch of me in her after all.

**EPOV**

Bella tried desperately to keep her eyes open, but she was out like a light right after giving the girls their first feedings. I followed the nurses as they took the girls to the nursery so the family could see them. I stood behind their bassinets and smiled as Mom, Dad, Charlie, Sue, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper snapped multiple photos of me with my daughters.

That sounded so weird but wonderful to think about – my daughters, my baby girls. Here they were, wrapped in little pink blankets and looking too perfect for words. A couple of little Bellas, a couple of little Angels. Both slept quietly as I bent over to kiss each of their precious little heads gently. I hadn't realized how long I had been in there, just gazing at my daughters until I noticed Bella walking towards me.

"What are you doing? You should be asleep."

"No way," she said, "Not when I have a couple of little wonders out here to be with."

She reached down and pulled Keely into her arms. She turned to the big window so everyone could get more photos.

I noticed that Jacob had showed up as well, he stood behind the rest of the friends and family and smiled gently at me and Bella. I waved to him and he nodded.

I picked up Aina and held her as I stood next to Bella – my perfect family was coming together better than I could have ever dreamed of.

**So, Charlie's wedding is coming up in the next chapter. Plus, what IS going to happen with Alice and Jasper?**


	29. Chapter 29

**BPOV **

I can't understand why people say babies are such a pain to take care of. It's been three weeks since I had the twins, and I can't count how many times I've had to rise from my bed in the dead of night to attend to feedings and diapers changes and all-around crankiness, but it hasn't seemed to faze me yet.

I love it, actually.

Even though I'll be taking my finals pretty soon, I still don't care that I'm only getting a grand total of four hours of sleep every night—if I'm lucky. School will be over the beginning of May, and I will have all summer to play with my little girls.

And Edward has become accustomed to getting up when they cry as well. I love to see that look in his eye when he brings the girls into the room so I can feed them. He likes to lean in close to me as I place one of the girls on the Boppy pillow and get her to attach herself to my nipple. Edward sits by my side with the other twin while I do this and sings softly to both of them.

I never knew he had such a beautiful voice.

Every day, Esme comes over to take care of them while I'm gone, and every day I cry in my car on the way to class. I know I show up looking a mess, but I don't care—I'm really past the point of trying to look cute by wearing makeup and nice clothes to class; I'm an old married woman and a mother now, I don't need to impress anyone.

But, I have missed Edward terribly. I guess all through the pregnancy, that whole "six weeks to heal before further intercourse" bit, as Dr. Friedberg described it, never crossed my mind. Six weeks? Without being intimate with my husband, my love, my reason for being? That must be one of God's cruel jokes—and I've had my fill of those for one lifetime.

We won't be able to make love again until the end of April, and even then I may be so entrenched in all my studying and spending my free time with Aina and Keely that I won't remember. I guess that's the first big problem with first-time parenting that I'm actually experiencing—not making enough time for my husband. And it's really killing me right now.

I was such a bitch to him some times when I was pregnant, and I want to make it up to him now. But every time we get close enough to fool around, either one of the girls starts to cry or one of us says we're too tired. Man! Where did all of my youthful stamina go? I'll tell you where, it's all devoted to my children right now. And that's how it's supposed to be, right?

I rushed home from class in the afternoons to be with Aina and Keely. Esme usually stayed with me until Edward got home, she's the best grandmother a child could ask for. Today, I got home from class around 3:30, and she was waiting for me in the kitchen – each girl in her own rocker chair.

"You have no food in this house," she chided.

"I do too," I laughed.

"I mean adult food," she continued, "All you have is baby formula and whatever this is supposed to be."

She held up a box of macaroni and cheese.

"We haven't had time to shop lately," I said. "We've been busy."

"Well, I'm taking you and the girls to the grocery store this instant," she said.

I would have argued, but Esme's never been one to suffer anyone's belly aching, so I packed the girls' diaper bag and got them into their car seats. I strapped Keely into the seat behind me as Esme buckled Aina in behind her and we made our way to the closest Safeway. Once our two shopping carts were ready to go, Esme began to pull things off of shelves and throw them into the baskets.

"Do you two need milk?" She asked as we approached the dairy case.

"Um-hum," I replied absently as I grazed my fingers gently over Aina's face.

She has my brown eyes; Keely's are lighter—somewhere between Edward's and mine. They're both getting little wisps of hair already, both a beautiful strawberry blond, like me when I was a little girl. Other than their eyes, they are basically identical at this point, so I tend to put Aina more in pink or red clothes and Keely more in purple or blue.

Aina eyed me curiously as I ran my index finger around the shape of her chubby little face. Once I had made a full circle, I slowly ran it down the bridge of her nose and stopped at the tip. I replaced my finger with my lips in a gently kiss that made her smile. I couldn't see it, but I'm sure my smile was stretched from ear to ear.

My trance was broken when Esme pulled up next to me with her cart.

"Aina smiled," I said as I felt a tear well up in my right eye, "The book said they wouldn't do that for another couple of weeks."

She smiled at me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Sometimes it happens earlier; these things aren't the same for every baby."

We both walked over to the produce section and proceeded to get a ton of fruit and vegetables. I just hoped I'd be able to make something will all of it before it goes bad. But, I wanted to eat as healthfully as possible, knowing that everything I eat, the girls eat as well.

As I gathered some tomatoes in a bag, Aina began to get fussy. Esme stood in front of the two carts and tried to calm the baby.

"Shhhh," she soothed, "Now, now, Babygirl, we'll be home soon."

Esme lifted her out of the car seat and rocked her gently. Aina soon began to calm down—she was a lot like me when I was a baby, at least, that's what Dad said. Apparently, I needed a lot of holding, a lot of attention. That used to drive my mom crazy.

Esme wouldn't let me pay for the groceries, and as I was now holding Aina so she wouldn't start crying again, I was in no position to argue. We got the girls back home and Edward's car pulled up just a second afterward.

"Daddy's home!" I chirped to Aina as I pulled her out of her car seat.

Edward threw his arms around both of us and showered us with kisses, "Two of my girls! But where's Keely?"

Esme brought her over and put her in Edward's arms, "There's my other little one. How have my girls been today?"

"Fine," I sighed, "A bit tired, I think. Aina's getting fussy."

"She seems alright to me," Edward replied as he brushed his fingers over Aina's forehead.

"She was getting cranky at the store; I think we should go put them down."

"OK, let's go little angels."

Edward and I took the twins to their room. The bigger guest room in the house had been turned into the nursery. Alice and Esme had a field day painting every square inch pink—even the ceiling. The motif was fairies, Esme even hand painted a few delicate fairies on the walls herself. I put Aina in her bassinet as Edward laid Keely in hers. Keely was already conked out before she got into the room, but Aina wasn't having any of this napping nonsense. She began to whimper and whine again until I pulled her back into my arms.

"See, she's not fussy," Edward said, "She just wants her mommy."

"But mommy has to help bring in the groceries and make dinner," I said as I rocked Aina gently.

"No she does not," Edward countered. "Mommy needs to sit right here and rest with her girls."

Edward helped me sit in the overstuffed chair next to the girls' bassinets. I curled up around Aina and watched her sweet face begin to grow sleepy. Her eyes were desperately trying to stay open, so I hummed gently until they began to give in. My humming grew into a soft song that my mom used to sing to me when I was little as I put Aina next to her sister and stood to watch both of them sleep peacefully.

•_Baby mine, don't you cry_

_Baby mine, dry your eyes_

_Rest your head close to my heart_

_Never to part, baby of mine_

_Little one when you play_

_Don't you mind what you say_

_Let those eyes sparkle and shine_

_Never a tear, baby of mine_

_If they knew sweet little you_

_They'd end up loving you too_

_All those same people who scold you_

_What they'd give just for_

_The right to hold you_

_From your head to your toes_

_You're not much, goodness knows_

_But you're so precious to me_

_Cute as can be, baby of mine_

As soon as I finished the song, I felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around me. I leaned back into him and sighed, "They're so beautiful, aren't they?"

"More than beautiful, just like their mother."

He kissed me behind my right ear and moved his way down to the top of my shoulder. I tilted my head to the side and allowed him to continue kissing up and down my neck repeatedly. Suddenly, I couldn't fight it anymore. I couldn't open my eye lids back up; they just hung softly over my eyes as my breathing became steady and shallow.

I could vaguely feel myself being set onto what seemed to be a bed before I was out completely. Part of my brain still wanted to fight it—wanted to keep me going so I could make dinner and spend time with my babies. But the battle was already lost.

**EPOV**

If I thought she did too much when she was pregnant, now I'm certain she's pushing herself to the point of exhaustion. She would like me to believe that she gets four hours of sleep per night, but I know it's more like one or two, because I can hear her sneaking out in the middle of the night to check up on the twins.

When they cry, she rarely ever lets me check on them. And when she does let me, it's usually with the expressed demand that I bring the one who's crying back to her. It's not as if she doesn't trust me, at least I don't think that's the case, it's just that she wants to prove she's a good mother.

She doesn't need to prove anything.

I know she's been preoccupied with school and the babies, as have I, so I've been quietly attempting to set up a night out for just the two of us. I'm thinking of taking us back to where it all began: Skamania Lodge. But that may be too far away for Bella, and I know it's going to be hard enough to convince her to leave the girls overnight—even if they are with my parents.

Then it hit me: Alexander's. That held even greater sentimental value, particularly since it was where we spent our wedding night. I made reservations for the weekend after Bella was finished with her finals—I would be done with mine at the same time.

It was the beginning of May, and my parents took me, Bella and the angels out to lunch on a Friday afternoon with the knowledge that they would be leaving with Aina and Keely to look after for the weekend. Alice had secretly packed a bag for Bella and put it in the back of my car when she stopped by for a visit earlier in the morning.

Bella and my mother held the twins on one end of the table while Dad and I gazed at them lovingly from the other side.

"You know, son, I think this was the greatest gift you could have ever given your mother," he said.

I smiled at him and nodded. My mom was definitely enjoying her new role as grandmother. She held Aina close to her and placed a fingertip on her nose. Bella was rocking Keely gently because she was getting fussy. She whispered something to my mom before heading off towards the back of the restaurant.

"She's going to feed Keely," Mom said to our questioning stares.

I looked to my watch, it was 12:30. We couldn't check in until after 1 p.m., so I would give Bella as much time as she wanted before I took her away from our babies for two days. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like a monster for wrenching the mother of my children away from them when they were only two months old. But we needed this.

Bella returned and asked Mom if Aina needed to be fed.

"You better take her and see if she'll eat," Mom replied, "She hasn't been fussy yet, but a little preventative feeding couldn't hurt."

I held out my arms to take Keely so Bella could feed Aina. I gave Keely a kiss on both of her chubby little cheeks and then one of her soft, pink lips. She smiled at me and I couldn't contain the smile that spread across my own face in return. They were both so much like their mother – adorable, sweet and irresistible. These little angels will be the death of me, all three of them.

My dad was watching me out of the corner of his eye, "She certainly has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"

"Absolutely."

Bella returned as the check for our food arrived. Dad paid and Mom began packing the girls things away.

"Oh Mom, you don't have to do that," Bella said. "I've got it."

"Actually, Bella, Mom and Dad are going to be watching the girls for a while," I said as I put Keely in her car seat.

I could see Bella's hold on Aina tighten as she gave me an incredulous look.

"Oh? And where will we be?"

"I've made reservations at Alexander's."

"For how long?" She asked, refusing to loosen her hold on the baby.

"The weekend," I said. "We'll be back on Sunday afternoon – and we won't be far away, so you have nothing to worry about."

"It's not that I'm worried, I know the girls are in good hands, it's just…"

"Bella dearest," Mom said, "You're not being a bad mother by going away for a couple of days. You need some alone time with your husband. Go – Carlisle and I want to have the little angels all to ourselves this weekend. Let me be a selfish grandmother!"

Bella's expression softened. She smiled at Mom and then looked down to Aina who was becoming sleepy in her arms.

"Well, I guess I am being a bit overdramatic, aren't I?"

"No," Dad said, "You're just being a mom."

Bella placed Aina gently in Dad's arms and he immediately kissed his granddaughter on the tip of her nose. I don't know what it is about these angels, but people just can't help but kiss them every time they hold them.

I wrapped my arms around Bella as we watched Mom and Dad drive away with the girls. Suddenly, Bella turned and gave me a worried look.

"What about clothes? I didn't bring any."

"Alice packed some things for you," I replied.

"You Cullens! You're always in cahoots," she laughed.

"Hey! What do you mean 'you Cullens?'" I asked. "You're a Cullen too, you know."

"I know," she smiled as she got into the Volvo.

**BPOV**

I hadn't left my babies for any extended period of time since they were born. And while I know I need a bit of a break, I still have that nagging feeling that I'm abandoning them – even though I'm quite sure they'll never even realize I'm gone.

We got to the inn and the concierge took us to the same guest house we had stayed in on our wedding night. I could help but smile as I recalled that wonderful night – it was the very night we had decided we were going to try and have children right away. And now I have two angels to show for it.

Edward and I flopped down on the bed as soon as the bellhops had left. We lay there for a good half an hour before either one of us spoke.

"I know our anniversary isn't until the end of the month," he said. "But, I thought we both just needed this now. After school and taking care of our babies, we just needed a little…"

I didn't let him finish, I rolled over and captured his lips roughly. I just wanted him, Esme was right – I needed alone time with my husband. I needed a night similar to the last time we were here, when no piece of furniture was safe.

He responded quickly and turned me over onto my back. I pulled his sweater over his head and threw it to the ground before scratching my nails over his strong, chiseled chest. I intended to have him at least four times before we slept tonight – and it was time for round one.

**EPOV**

I had been craving her touch and her body for weeks now. And even though I sincerely loved her plump, pregnancy body – complete with that perfect, round stomach – I would enjoy her even more now; especially considering she still had some of the features that came with being a new mom.

First of all being the breasts. God they were huge – my wife is, by nature, a well-endowed woman; but now that she is a mother as well, her breasts seem to have swelled to twice their normal size.

I tore her shirt off in my haste to get to them. I unclasped her bra and the heavy orbs seem to sigh as they were released from their confines. I took her left breast into my mouth and suckled the nipple gently. As I was encouraged by her moans of pleasure, I sucked with greater pressure and was rewarded with a warm sensation that drizzled lightly on my tongue – her breast milk.

She giggled shyly, "I guess there was still some left in that one."

I smiled evilly at her, I wanted more. Once again, I took the nipple between my lips and sucked long and hard. Another drizzle hit my tongue, this one was more substantial then the last and I let it settle in my mouth for a bit – just reveling in the sweetness.

It was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted in my life, but I think some of that had to do with the knowledge that this was the substance that kept my babies alive. And the fact that it came from the body of my one true love.

I moved to give my attention to her right breast, but there was no milk to find there. Keely had been there before me, and she is a greedy little one.

Bella soon grew impatient to move on with our love-making, so I trailed my lips down her soft, still somewhat rounded belly until I came to the top of her jeans. I unzipped them and pulled them down her legs along with her panties. I knelt before her and took in the sight before me – all of my beautiful Bella, soft and yielding and waiting for me to take her.

I stood up and ripped off the rest of my clothing.

**BPOV**

As much as I enjoyed his attention to my breasts – they had always seemed to be his favorite part of my body – I wanted him inside of me. There was no greater feeling in the world than being one with my husband.

Once he had pulled the rest of his clothes off, he stretched his long body over mine. I love when he does that – when he braces each arm on either side of my head and gazes down at me with those hooded eyes. It makes me feel safe and loved; Edward makes me feel like nothing in the world could ever hurt me.

He entered me slowly and I closed my eyes and reveled in the feeling of taking every inch of him into me. Of its own accord, my right leg found its way up the side of his body and wrapped around his waist – my left leg soon followed suit.

And then we were there once more, in that steady, wonderful rhythm that promised absolute pleasure in just a few moments. We would fall over that cliff together and land in each other's arms.

The moans and whimpers flew from my mouth as my walls contracted around him. It was amazing, it felt essentially the same as before, but with something extra – a connection between Edward and I that was always there before, but now strengthened.

I felt the corners of my lips curl into a slightly smile as I felt him cum into me before he collapsed on top of me.

We were both exhausted, not just from our love-making, but from the past few weeks of events. But, we still managed to lift ourselves back up and fit three more rounds in before the day was through. We even made love in the bath, just to relive a bit of our honeymoon nights in Paris.

And then we fell into deep sleep – saving the rest of our energy for the next day's exertions.

**A/N – Yes that is the song from Dumbo – I like to sing it to my nephew.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Last update for this story! Sorry people :-(**

**Epilogue – Bella:**

**Five years later – June**

"Momma! Aina's wearing my pink dress again! Tell her she can't wear it!"

"Keely, are you wearing the dress right now?"

"No!"

"Then you should share it with your sister. Don't be such a tattletale."

Keely crossed her arms over her chest as she stood at the top of the stairs and pouted at me. She looked like my mom when she did that and I couldn't help but smile at her gently.

I felt a tug at my pant leg and bent down to pick the 2-year-old up without even having to look to see who it was.

"Momma…juice…" Owen waved his sippy cup in front of my face.

"OK, birthday boy, let's get you some juice."

I carried him into the kitchen on my hip to find Esme feeding my 10-month-old, Alys, as I walked to the fridge to grab the apple juice.

"How's my little Aly baby?" I asked as I set Owen down to fill his cup.

"She's really liking the applesauce," Esme said.

I handed Owen his cup and kissed him on the top of his head before I leaned over and kissed Alys on her forehead. She giggled at me as applesauce dribbled down her chin where Esme caught it with the spoon.

"Hello! We're here!"

Alice walked in with Aiden on her hip. She and Jasper were married a month after Keely and Aina's 1st birthday, and she found out she was pregnant with Aiden one year later. He's such a little Jasper, very quiet and shy until he gets to know you.

Rosalie wasn't far behind as she had Madeline in a car seat with Ethan trailing behind her shyly.

"Hey Ethan," I said as I bent down to hug him, the oldest of the grandchildren.

"Hi Aunt Bella," he said.

He laughed as I lifted him in the air and spun him around. Although not quite as dear to me as my own children, Ethan will always have a special place in my heart.

I set Ethan down in a chair as Keely and Aina ran into the kitchen to greet him, they loved their cousin. He's generally less than enthusiastic since he's at that 'girls have cooties' stage of life. It doesn't help that Emmett likes to jokingly reinforce this notion—even after I've explained that Ethan's still too young to get the joke.

We were all together today for Owen's second birthday, and Edward was out back setting everything up for the party. We sat the kids down in front of the TV to watch a movie so the mom's could begin making the snacks and chatting.

"Did Emmett and Jasper go out back to help do the manly stuff?"

"Yep," Rosalie said with a roll of her eyes, "Emmett was very excited to get his chance to use Edward's new grill."

I laughed – Edward loves his little toys. He had just finished his residency and was working at the Harborview Medical Center as a cardiologist. We bought our house a little over a year ago, while I was pregnant with Alys, and he immediately went about buying things like a huge, fancy grill and a 52-inch plasma screen HDTV.

Suddenly, Edward and Jasper walked into the kitchen through the screen door to get the hamburgers and hotdogs out of the fridge. On their way back out, Edward walked behind me and kissed the top of my head.

Just as the screen door closed behind him, the front door opened and I heard some of the kids yell, "Grandpa!"

I walked into the living room to find Dad and Sue being mobbed by all three of my four kids and Ethan. Dad had a bag full of colorfully wrapped boxes in one hand and was holding Owen up with the other.

"Poppa!" Owen called – he just loves to say that over and over again. At one point, I'm pretty sure he thought everyone's name was Poppa.

"There's my little Owen," Dad said as Sue took the bags from him and set them by the door.

Aina held her arms out to Sue for a hug and Sue swung her up until Aina was settled on her right hip. "Hello little one, how are you?"

"Fine grandma," Aina replied quietly.

Dad and Sue finally made their way into the living room and I got a hug from both of them.

"Hey Dad, how was the drive?"

"It was fine," he said. "Just long, like always."

Sue and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes in unison.

"So, how's Seth doing in Oregon?" I asked. Seth would be a sophomore at Oregon State in the fall, he got a soccer scholarship.

"Great, he loves it," Sue said as she followed me into the kitchen.

"I miss Uncle Seth," Aina said quietly, still clinging tightly to her grandma.

"Oh, he misses his little Aina, too," Sue replied as she squeezed Aina tight. "Don't worry; he'll be home at Christmas time."

"Any girlfriends up there in Corvallis?" Rosalie asked.

"He hasn't mentioned any, thank god!" Sue said.

"I'm surprised, I thought he'd have to beat them off with a stick," Rose responded.

It was true, ever since Seth's junior year in high school – when he had that growth spurt that left him at around 6' 4" – he's turned into one good-looking kid.

We began to take the food out to the table set up outside. Emmett had already managed to take over grill duties, leaving Edward free to have a beer with Carlisle and Jasper. Dad soon joined in the fun.

I walked back into the kitchen to find the birthday cake had cooled and was ready for icing. I took out the cans of frosting and began to spread them white fluff onto the yellow cake when I felt a tug at my pant leg again – this time it was Keely.

"Can I help, Momma?"

"Sure baby," I said as I lifted her up and handed her a plastic spatula.

She sat on the counter next to the cake and helped me smear the frosting. She was very meticulous about it, too – she slowly dragged the spatula around the sides of the cake, making sure no yellow showed through.

"That's really good, Babygirl," I said as I watched her work.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Wow, this place is just Grand Central Station today, isn't it Keely?"

"Mm-hmm," she replied as she finished her side of the cake – I must say it looked a lot better than mine.

I lifted her up as she licked some of the frosting off the spatula and we went to answer the door. Right before me, much to my surprise, was Jacob. I had invited him, but I wasn't sure if he was going to show.

That day that he showed up in the hospital to see the twins, things changed. He had said he wanted us to be friends, but soon after, he became infuriatingly elusive. I was never sure when I was going to hear from him.

"Uncle Jake!" Keely called as she began to reach for him.

"Hey Keely! Wow, look how big you've gotten," Jacob said as he pulled her into his arms. "How old are you now? 16, 17?"

"I'm 4," she laughed.

"Oh, my mistake," Jake said. "But you know, it's a good thing you're still 4, because when you get older I won't be able to do this."

He started tickling her sides and she squealed with laughter.

"Stop! Please Uncle Jake!" She laughed.

"What? Don't stop? Please keep tickling me, Uncle Jake? OK!!"

He continued his attack for another minute until I finally managed to get a word in, "So, how have you been, Jake?"

"Good, good," he said. "Still in La Push, still working at the shop."

Jacob's natural gift for all things automotive led to a career as a mechanic. I guess he must do pretty well for himself – considering the very nice pickup now sitting in my driveway. I'm sure that would be the boy's next object of interest once they spotted it.

"How's Billy?"

"Dad's great! Hasn't Charlie told you? They go fishing all the time."

"What else is new?" I quipped as we headed inside.

I noticed Jacob pull a box out of his coat pocket and set it with the other presents for Owen.

"So where's the birthday boy?"

"Outside with his Poppa," I said.

"Man, that kid really loves Charlie, doesn't he?"

"Uh-huh," I said as I went to work with a pastry bag writing 'Happy Birthday, Owen' on the cake.

Jacob leaned up against the counter with Keely still in his arms and watched me carefully put the lettering on. I watched him back out of the corner of my eye.

"So," I finally said as I put a candle in the shape of a 2 on as the finishing touch, "Seeing anyone?"

"You ask that every time," he said.

"And every time you say no," I continued, "I guess I'm hoping one of these times you say yes."

"Why?"

"Because I worry about you," I said. "I haven't heard of you really dating anyone since we broke up and that was, what, seven years ago?"

"I've dated other people," he said defensively.

"Who?"

"Some girls at school, you just never met them because they were never serious things."

"Why not? You should have a serious thing with someone, Jacob. You're 25-years-old, now, and you're a funny, smart and good-looking guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"Oh really? Is that why you just broke up with me for no reason?"

"That's old news, Jake. And it wasn't for no reason – I just didn't have romantic feelings for you. We were becoming like brother and sister."

"Only to you," he countered. "I've never looked at you as my sister. I already have two sisters, Bella, I don't need another one."

I sighed and picked up the cake, "I thought you said you want to be friends, Jake. We can't be friends if you want to bring up all of the not-so-great times whenever we see each other."

"Maybe Jacob should just excuse himself if he's not going to behave."

I turned to see Edward standing by the screen door with a dangerous look on his face.

"Not very hospitable, Eddie," Jacob said. "I came to celebrate Owen's birthday."

Edward walked over and held out his arms to Jacob – after a brief, tense moment, Jake finally handed Keely to Edward. But they continued to star each other down for the rest of the day.

Everyone stayed until it was time to put the kids to bed, and I went out to the front porch after I tucked my babies in. Jacob was sitting there, and I sighed as I sat next to him.

We sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"Why did it have to turn out this way, Bells? Weren't we supposed to have a life together?"

"I guess not, Jake," I replied simply. "If we were, that's how things would have happened."

"But, you don't understand," he continued, "I don't even see other women, Bella. I can't find another person I am even remotely as in love with as you. You're it for me."

"Jake," I sighed as I leaned back and looked up at the moon, "You're being absurd. You've never even left Washington, how can you possible know there isn't a woman out there for you?"

"I don't need to," he replied as he turned to me.

He was leaning in for a kiss and I wound my hand back and slapped him sharply. He recoiled and put his hand to his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Give me a break, Jacob! Are you serious? I'm married, I have four children and a wonderful life. So, what do you want from me?"

He glared at me with his hand still on his cheek, "Nothing…I don't want anything from you. There! Are you satisfied?"

"Go home Jacob…and please don't come back."

**Oh, don't worry – it doesn't end here people! I'm thinking up a sequel that should involve all of heroes…and a few of our villains! Start thinking up certain themes and a title for it! I'll start once I finish "What if I am a superhero?"**

**Until next time, friends…**


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